In Person
by Piper Emerald
Summary: When Mello began messaging someone with the username Matt on a gaming website, he never considered the fact that the two of them could ever actually meet. As Mello texts Matt, and can't help but feel that the two understand each other. Circumstances push the two together IRL, but he soon realizes that in order to know someone you have to get in know them in person. (High school AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note I wouldn't need to wrire cheesy high-school AU fanfic, now would I?**

* * *

 _Friday, October 24th_

Mello was in the zone. Maybe studying for a biology test was a pathetic thing to be 'in the zone' for, but Mello had definitely found his knack for pouring over his text book. It was possible that he was over doing it. He knew for a fact that the majority of his classmates had only looked over their notes once before going to sleep at an early hour, and here he was rereading everything that he knew on the subject at one in the morning.

In his defense, he had a good reason behind his motivation. Biology was the only class that he and Near shared (the school had managed to keep them separated for all other subjects), and Mello had yet to achieve the same test score as Near. This time, however, he was determined to blow his adopted brother out of the water. The only way that Mello could be certain that he would end up in first place was to sacrifice his sleep and free time.

That was when a notification on his computer swiftly demolished his focus. Mello knew that he should have turned off his laptop, or at least shut down his email so that he wouldn't be told the moment someone on the website he had found two months ago messaged him. To be fare, only one person on the website had the power to completely distract Mello from his work, but the second that he knew Matt was also online Mello was sure that he wouldn't be able to return to biology terms.

 _Hey, Mello! Are you still awake?_

Matt liked to overuse exclamation points. Mello often wondered if Matt talked this energetically in person. There were many things that Mello wondered about how Matt behaved in person, since the two of them had never actually met. He doubted that Matt was even the other boy's real name, and, since they were both careful online, they still had no idea what each other looked like. No one outside of his family called him Mello, so he had thought that it would be safe to use this nickname as his profile name on the gaming website where he had met Matt.

 _Shh, I'm studying._

Mello typed in this reply only because he doubted that Matt would listen to him and stop messaging.

 _This early?! I knew you were in uni…_

Guessing each other's ages was a never ending game between the two of them. Mello was fairly confident that Matt was also in secondary school, and, after a few intimations, he was pretty sure that Matt thought the same about him. However, this was something that neither of them were comfortable revealing to someone that they had met on the internet. Although, they ended up telling each other that what time zone that they were in, purely because it made finding times to chat easier.

 _Or I'm the rare breed of dedicated high school student._

 _Um… that doesn't exist._

Mello smirked at Matt's reply, imagining what Matt would think if he met his family.

 _Why are you awake then?_

 _I was playing a game before bed… and then I didn't stop._

 _Figures._

 _Yep. You want to play something?_

Before connecting with Matt, Mello hadn't been much of a gamer. He had only found the site that they were now chatting on because he had been bored. Matt on the other had was a video game addict, and, after talking to him for about a week, Mello couldn't help but let his new friend suck him into the pixelated world. Of course, Matt would beat him at almost everything that they played, and Mello often found himself wondering why Matt still wanted to play with him if he could win so easily.

What part of 'Shh, I'm studying' did you not understand?

 _All of it._

Mello glanced forlornly at his text book. He knew that he could spend the rest of his night playing video games and still ace the test, but if he stopped now Near's score would trump his for sure. Debating the matter for a few more seconds, Mello replied to Matt.

Fine. What do you want to play?

It wasn't like he was going to beat Near anyway.

* * *

Mello resisted the urge to roll his eyes when he was the score written in red ink at the top of his scantron.

98.5%

A quick glance at the disappointed faces that surrounded him told him that he had the second best score in the class. Bracing himself for irritation, he glared across the room the where Near was sitting. The two of them were not aloud to sit within three desks of each other after an incident a few years before. His albino sort-of-brother met his gaze. Mello raised an eyebrow and Near held up his sheet for Mello (and the rest of the class) to see.

100%

Git, Mello thought bitterly. Outwardly he gave Near a shallow grin, which he was sure Near took to mean "I'll get you next time." To this Near nodded, not letting any of his (most likely nonexistent) emotions show on his face.

Yes, they probably took there academic rivalry a tad bit too far. The reason to this was merely that the both of them spent most of the day in the deep pit of boredom. At least, Mello was pretty sure that Near was bored, and if Near was capable of feeling anything it would certainly be boredom. For Mello only achieving the victorious feeling of success could pull him out of boredom.

Okay, that wasn't entirely true. Recently talking to Matt had done a pretty good job of distracting him. However, he couldn't be online during the school day, and with school came the constant feeling that he was smarter than everyone around him and no one was worth his time of day. As much as he hated being around Near, their silent conversations across the classroom were better than him not communicating with anyone at all.

All of this had been a lot easier to manage before L had decided to study abroad in Japan. Of all the universities that Mello's favorite family member could have gone to, he just had to pick To-Oh. Mello loathed only being able to talk to the brother that he idolized when their schedules and an eight hour time difference allowed. The fact that L rarely slept often came in handy for this communication, but video chatting and long distance phone calls were not the same had having him there. Truthfully, lately Mello spent more of his time talking to Matt than he did talking to his brother.

The bell signaling the end of class rang two minutes after Mello and his classmates had received their test scores. Hastily shoving his scantron into his backpack, Mello joined his classmates as they quickly filed out of the room. The next period was lunch, the only time of the school day that Mello was completely left alone.

Since he was only in tenth-grade, he was not aloud to leave campus (although, occasionally he tried). Fortunately, this did not mean that the school forced him to eat in the lunch hall. Students were aloud to eat where ever pleased, but most preferred to eat where they could buy food. Mello packed his own lunch, therefore he had the entire forty-minutes to spend in solitude.

Some would say that hiding in and empty hall at the top floor of a school building was a pathetic way to spend your lunch period, but Mello felt no shame in being a loner. Eating by himself in front of others made him uncomfortable, especially since his lunch comprised of a small sandwich and two chocolate bars. On an average day Mello consumed four bars of chocolate, two at lunch, one when he arrived home, and another after dinner. The excessive amount of sugar may have been bad for his cholesterol, but he was of the firm opinion that it was good for his mental health. He had proof of this, since he was prone to less angry outbursts when there was chocolate in his system.

After eating his sandwich and the first chocolate bar, Mello pulled out his cell phone to check his email. After the first month of messaging Matt, Mello had developed a habit of checking his email (which notified him whenever someone on the gaming site messaged him) every second that he could. Nowadays he was able to restrain himself to only checking three times during the school day, and lunch was one of these times.

A grin spread across his face when he saw that Matt had sent him a message only five minutes ago. Since the site was blocked on the school wifi, Mello had to use his cellphone's data to reply. This he didn't mind, since he rarely was chided at home for using to much of it. The only inconvenience was that he had to type out what he wanted to say on his phone's tiny keyboard. Mello was a slow texter, but a fast typer. Matt was both, and, whenever they talked while Mello was at school, Matt always had more to say.

 _Hey! You online?_ Matt had asked.

 _Now I am._ Mello replied shortly.

 _Cool! How's your day going?_

 _Fine. Yours?_

Matt usually only bothered with small talk to be polite before he launched into a story or rant of something terrible or wonderful that had happened to him. Although they didn't know each other personally, neither of them had a problem talking about their personal lives as long as they kept things vague and omitted names. Mello wasn't wrong in thinking that Matt had something to say, and within seconds he was reading a long string of texts.

 _Not so good. A teacher confiscated my phone. This is the third time that I got caught playing a game in class, so I got sent to the dean. I said I was sorry and everything but they still called my parents and want to meet with them after school._

 _That sucks._ Mello had the time to respond.

 _IKR! Ugh! I'm definitely going to be grounded when I get home. That means no computer time for at least a week!_

Mello couldn't help but be upset by this. If Matt didn't have access to his computer or phone, Mello had no way to talk to him.

 _Wait._ Realization dawned on Mello. _If you don't have your phone how are you messaging me?_

 _Computer. My school blocks this site, but I hacked in._

 _Wow. That's impressive._

Matt had told Mello that he was good with computers, but Mello didn't know that he was good enough to hack into his school's wifi. He also hadn't known that Matt was brave enough to take the risk of getting caught and grounded for an even longer time. Actually, if Matt's school was as strict as Mello's, he could easily get expelled for doing that.

 _They have a crappy system._

 _And you don't think you'll get caught?_

Mello couldn't help asking this. He wasn't paranoid, but Mello wouldn't take this much of a risk just to play a few games and have a short conversation. That isn't to say that Mello wouldn't do something that risky at all, he would just want a larger reward should he succeed.

 _Nah. They have a really crappy system._

The conversation continued until Mello happened to glance at the time at the top of his phone, and realized that he was about to be late for his next class.

 _I have to go. He quickly told Matt._

 _Crap! Me too! I'll message you later if I still have my computer!_

Mello's next class was P.E., or, as he liked to call it, The Death Of All Joy. It wasn't that Mello didn't like exercise, because he did enjoy working out. The problem was that his P.E. teacher didn't understand that running laps around a gym that was desperately in need of a good fan was not the only form of exercise. Running was the bane of Mello's existence, therefore he and his P.E. teacher were not friends.

After ending his conversation with Matt, Mello dashed to the gym and changed into his t-shirt and shorts. Not for the first time, he found himself detesting whomever decided on his school's P.E. uniform. All the clothes seemed to do was highlight his skinny and almost feminine frame. This combined with his long blonde hair more than motivated his classmates to call him a girl both to his face and behind his back. Over the years he had learned to ignore this, but it was still difficult to keep it from pissing him off. L had once suggested that Mello don a more masculine hair style, but Mello liked the way his long hair looked on him.

"You're late, Mihael," Halle informed him when he entered the gym.

"Did he take roll yet?" Mello asked.

"No," Halle admitted. "But you're still late. Were you talking to your boyfriend at lunch again?"

Halle Linder was Mello's only school friend. Although the two of them rarely spent time together off of campus, they had shared at least one class ever since Mello first transferred to the school. Halle often invited Mello to eat lunch with her and some of her friends, and Mello usually used that fact that Near normally sat near her group as an excuse. He wasn't good at politely explaining to people why he liked to spend that time alone, and the fact that Halle knew he recently spent most of that time messaging Matt wouldn't help his explanation.

"He's not my boyfriend." Mello didn't need to tell her this, and he doubted that him saying it now would stop Halle from referring to Matt as such in the future. "I don't even know what he looks like."

"I think some people would say that's what makes it romantic," Halle mused.

"And you're one of those people?" Mello made a disgusted face.

"No," Halle laughed a little. "Those people are idiots."

"It's nice to know you think so highly of the every other girl your age," Mello deadpanned.

To this Halle just rolled her eyes, not having the chance to give a retort as class started.

* * *

When the school day finally ended, Mello left his last class in a hurry. Beyond had agreed to pick him and Near up from school and the last time that Mello had been late getting out of the building they left without him. Granted, that last time had been over a year ago. Beyond didn't visit much, and when he did he wasn't the type to enjoy helping out with transporting his younger, license and car lacking, brothers.

Now that Mello thought about Beyond driving, he almost wanted to be left behind. Beyond rarely heeded any traffic signal, and it was a miracle that he had not gotten into a an accident yet. Deciding that he would rather endure a terrifying half an hour than have the walk all the way home, Mello continued to speed walk to the entrance of his school. At least if he died Near would as well, and that had to count for something, right?

When Mello rushed pasted the office and to the school gates, he realized the importance of looking where he was going. In his haste, he bulldozed into redheaded boy who looked about his age. Thanks to his relatively good sense of balance, Mello did not end up flailing backward. Unfortunately, the redhead did not share this trait and nearly toppled backward. Ignoring his limited education on personal space, Mello grabbed hold of the other boy's shoulder to steady him.

"Sorry," Mello said as sincerely as he could as he released the boy's shoulder.

"No problem," the boy beamed. "I wasn't looking where I was going either."

Mello smiled apologetically before continuing his dash out of the school. As he successfully reached the car before Near, Mello wondered if he had seen the friendly kid that he had nearly knocked over before. He didn't look familiar, but Mello didn't know half of the other students in his grade anyway. Shrugging off the matter, Mello's thoughts went to wondering if he would be able to message Matt when he got home.

* * *

 **Hello Fanfiction, it's been a while! This is my first fic that centers Mello and Matt as the main pairing. It's impossible for me to write for Death Note and not have some LxLight, so they will denifetly show up in later chapaters, but will be a side ship.**

 **Thanks for reading thie first chapter! What do you think? Am I in character for Mello? Does the fact that I make him hide at school refelct on how much of a loner I am? Am I trying too hard to get you to review?**


	2. Chapter 2

_Friday, October 24th_

Mail shuffled his feet as he sat outside of the headmaster's office. He directed his eyes back to the homework that he had been trying to finish before his parents and the headmaster were done disguising how much of a delinquent he was. If they thought that he was a delinquent now, he wondered what they would think if they found out about him hacking the school's internet. Hopefully that day would never come.

No one spoke to him when his parents exited the office. Deciding it would be better not to ask until his parents had cooled down, or at least until they weren't in a position where they could strangle him, Mail held his questions off until the car ride home.

"How much trouble am I in?" He bluntly asked.

His father kept his eyes on the road, not even glancing in Mail's direction, while his mother wore a veil of cold disappointment.

"We have decided to take away your cell phone and computer privileges," she curtly informed him.

"Okay," Mail had expected this. "For how long?"

"We haven't decided that yet."

Mail doubted that it would be longer than a month, but there was a chance that him saying the wrong thing could prolong his internet-less and game-less state.

"Do I have in school suspension?" he chanced asking.

"No," his mother pursed her lips. "But I don't doubt you will if you go on your phone again while your teacher is talking to you."

 _If they catch me_ , Mail thought to himself.

"I understand," he said out loud.

No on spoke for the rest of the car ride.

"Hey!" Mail heard a familiar voice call his name as he slid out his car door.

Linda waved at him from her front yard. He waved back at her, then directed his attention to his parents. His father had already walked into the house, probably still channeling waves of frustration in Mail's direction. Shrugging this off, Mail turned to his mother.

"Mom, can I hang out with Linda?" He hated that he had to ask his mother's permission to simply talk to his next door neighbor. "I finished my homework while we were waiting outside of the headmaster's office."

"Alright," she reluctantly agreed. Seeing friends in person did not fall under the category of things that his grounding deprived him off.

"Thanks."

"Give me your phone and computer first," she told him, and he repressed the urge to sigh.

"Here," he handed her his bag.

She gave him a tight smile and she slung the bag over her shoulder and walked into the house. Mail almost felt sorry for her. He knew that his personality was starting to be straining on both of his parents, and constantly getting in some form of trouble at school didn't ease the amount of stress that he brought to the table. For a moment he almost felt sorry for his father as well, then he realized what that meant and pushed the thought out of his head.

"Hey, Linda," he greeted his best friend.

"Wait!" She shouted, jumping from where she was siting and running to him.

"What?" Mail was used to these kinds of burst of energy from her.

"Stand right here," she grabbed him by the shoulders and moved him three inches. "Okay, don't move."

"Why?" He inquired as she darted back to where she had been sitting and picked up a sketch book.

"I'm drawing your house," she answered. "The picture has more life if you're in it too."

"Do I take that as a compliment?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you want to," she shrugged.

Mail stood still for about two minutes as Linda vigorously sketched.

"Are you done yet?" His muscles yearned for him to sit down.

"Rome wasn't build in a day," she replied.

"How is that quote even relevant?" Mail exclaimed.

"I dunno," she giggled.

"I need friends my own age," he groaned.

"Because my use of irrelevant quotes has to do with me being a year younger than you," she smirked. "And…done! You can move now."

"Thank you," he muttered.

"You're welcome," she laughed.

"Does your house have food in it I'm starving?" He asked as he walked over to her and examined the sketch. "This is really good, by the way."

"Of course it is," she dismissed the compliment. "I drew it."

"We need to work on your arrogance," he informed her. "Is that a 'yes' to the food?"

"Only because I'm hungry too," she tucked her sketch book under her arm as they walked to her front door. "So what did you get in trouble for this time?"

"What makes you think I'm in trouble?"

"You're avoiding your house," she answered.

"Maybe I just want to spend time with you?" He pretended to be offended that she hadn't thought of this.

"No," she told him. "If you did you would tell me to come over. My parents still freak you out."

"They don't freak me out," he protested, then froze. "They're not home, are they?"

"No, they're both still at work," she laughed. "And you don't have a valid reason to be afraid of them, since your parents tried to set us up too."

"Who says I'm not afraid of my parents," he quipped.

"You're officially avoiding your house," she stated. "What did you do?"

"I don't know why you automatically assumed I'm in trouble," he huffed.

"Well what else could it be?"

"Maybe I came out again," he deadpanned. "They'd definitely want me out of the house if I brought up that subject."

"Very funny," she rolled her eyes. "Just give them time."

"I know, I know," he sighed. "So what are we eating?"

He followed Linda into her kitchen. Both of them decided that they didn't feel like cooking, so she tossed him a box of cereal and pulled two bowls out of her cupboard.

"No milk?" He asked when she handed him his bowl.

"We have but I think it's expired," she confessed. "Want to take your chances?"

"No thanks," he poured the dry cereal into his bowl. "Can a borrow your computer after this?"

"So you are grounded," she reasoned.

"Yeah," he finally told her. "I got caught playing a game on my phone during class."

"Of course it's video game related," she rolled her eyes. "If that's why you want my computer you can't have it."

"That's not why." Mail hesitated to tell her the reason, knowing that she would take his meaning out of proportion.

"Then why do you need it?"

"I told my friend I'd try to message him."

"And you can't wait until you see him next?" she crossed her arms, and he was tempted to make a smart remark on how she was was pouty fourteen-year-old.

"I don't exactly know him like that," Mail murmured.

"Oh my God!" A grin broke across her face. "You met a boy online!"

"Not like that!" Mail groaned, but Linda continued giggling. "We just meet up to play games and talk sometimes. I don't even know what he looks like or how old he is, so don't get excited."

"That's kind of shady," she told him. "How long have you been talking to him?"

"Two months," Mail couldn't stop himself from admitting. "And it's not shady. We don't give each other personal information."

"He could be some creeper," Linda pointed out.

"He isn't," Mail insisted. "If he's not in high school he's at least in uni."

"How do you know, I thought he didn't give you personal information?" She questioned.

"Last night he was studying for a test, and he only messages me after school or at lunch time," he explained. "And before you ask, sometimes we do talk about whatever we're doing, but never go into enough detail for it to be unsafe if one of us is a creeper."

Linda continued to giggle.

"What now?" Mail sighed.

"It's kind of romantic."

"No it isn't!" Mail exclaimed.

"You can use my computer to message or play games with your online boyfriend whenever you want," Linda teased.

"I'm holding you to that offer," he said pointedly.

"I don't care," she shrugged. "As long as I get updates on your digital love life."

"I don't have a love life."

"You do now!" She sang.

After they finished their milk-less cereal, Linda brought her laptop out from where she kept it in her room. It took Mail seconds to log into the gaming site and send Mello a message. Since it was her computer, he let Linda read over his shoulder.

 _Hi! Are you there?_

With in seconds, Mello responded.

 _So you're not grounded, then?_

"When did you have time to tell him you were grounded?" Linda asked.

"I was texting him at lunch," Mail multitasked typing and talking.

 _I am grounded. Using my friends computer. She says hi._

"Hey, I didn't say you could tell him I'm here!" Linda playfully swatted Mail's arm.

 _Tell her I say hi back._ Mello replied.

"See, he's nice." Mail insisting this only send Linda into another fit of giggles.

 _She says she thinks your cool._ Mail couldn't help typing in.

"Hey, I didn't say that!" She yelped and Mail chuckled.

 _Um… Okay…?_

"Now he thinks I'm a ditz," Linda complained. "I wanted to make a good impression."

"Stop talking like he's someone I actually know."

* * *

It was late afternoon when Linda's parents came home from work and Mail retreated back to his own house. This ended up being prefect timing to eat dinner with his parents, and Mail found himself cursing the bad luck that day had given him. As the three of them sat in silence that was only broken by the soft clank of silverware against the pottery plates that Mail's mother had owned since before Mail was born, Mail began to wish that his grounding included him being forced to skip dinner. He didn't doubt that this was a punishment his father had pushed for, but his mother had never been a fan of anything that put Mail's health or physical comfort at risk (even if it was for only a few hours). All the same, Mail would have preferred a night of hunger pains to enduring half an hour of agonizing quiet.

When the meal was finished Mail retreated the the safety and boredom of his room. Usually he would spend this time messaging Mello or playing a video game, but both of these hobbies were currently off limits. Mail spent the rest of the night trying to read a manga Linda had lent him, and envying the freedom that most anime and manga characters were given.

* * *

 **Thank you to Corliss Kat, Carlottal, and** **brightnight003 for reviewing!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Saturday, October 25th_

Mello glanced at the clock, it was about eight twenty five. That meant that in five minutes L would Skype call him. Mello and L had made a habit of video chatting every Saturday, because weekends were the only days that they could work around the time difference between Japan and England. Due to the fact that they could rarely stand being in the same room as each other, L couldn't talk to Mello and Near at the same time, so Mello was given Saturday and Near Sunday.

 _I have to go in a few minutes. Can you wrap this us?_

He was currently loosing to Matt at one of his least favorite video games. The fact that Matt liked to be a gentleman was both a help and a hindrance. Sometimes when Matt had the opportunity to end the game he would prolong it in order to give Mello a better chance at a victory. Occasionally this would lead to Mello winning, but usually all it gave him was a higher score when he lost.

 _Okay!_ Matt replied. _Give me three minutes to beat you._

 _You're so confident in my abilities._ Mello hoped that Matt could read his text sarcasm.

 _Sorry, but you suck at this._

Mello knew that this was true, so he didn't bother replying with anything in his defense. True to his word, Matt easily beat Mello in three minutes. Mello said goodbye to Matt and his friend who was apparently watching their conversation over Matt's shoulder, and left the site just in time to answer L's video call.

"Morning," Mello greeted him.

"It's afternoon over here," L drawled on the other end of the conversation.

L was most likely sitting at his desk with his laptop facing the wall. Mello could see most of L's room from the angle that L had the computer. His sight range included full view of L's roommate, who was sitting on his bed and leaning against the wall it was adjacent to. L had once introduced the boy as Light Yagami, but he usually wasn't around when L talked to Mello or Near, wanting to give the family their privacy to talk about whatever they wanted. Mello made a mental note to ask why his chivalry did not extend to this video chat.

"I know," Mello shrugged in response to L's comment.

Mello heard a high pitched voice babble something in Japanese. Then a dyed-blonde Japanese girl bounced into view of the computer camera. Mello's mind repeated what he had heard her say, focussing on the level three Japanese that he had learned in school. She had asked something along the lines of "is that your little brother," but she had spoken too fast for Mello to be sure.

"Yes," L's tone was slower and calmer as usual.

"Hello!" She said in English with a thick accent, beaming at Mello. It was likely that she knew a few words in English incase she had to communicate with someone who only spoke it.

"Hello," Mell replied in Japanese, not passing off the chance to impress whoever this girl was.

"I see you're working on your Japanese," L mussed, not slipping back into their first language.

"And I guess you're not going to give up the chance to test me?" Mello inquired, also staying the the language of the country L was currently in.

"Of course," L replied. "Mello, this is Misa Amane, one of Light's friends."

"I'm your friend too, silly!" Misa chided him. "Oh! You're Mello? L talks about you all the time!"

"He does?" Mello tried not to sound horrified by this fact.

"Well," Misa drew out this word. "He mentioned you twice to me an Raito, but for him that's a lot."

"Who's Raito?" Mello asked before L could explain to Misa the reason why he didn't talk about his family to most people.

"That would be me," Light answered. "Light is the English form of my name, L is the only one who calls me by it."

"Oh," Mello made mental note to ask L what was so hard about calling his roommate by his real name.

"Misa is here to work on an assignment with Raito," L continued as if he hadn't been interrupted by their side conversation.

"Actually we finished the assignment an hour ago," Light informed Mello in English so that Misa could not understand. He regarded the girl with an attitude that Mello pinned as borderline supercilious before adding: "For some reason she won't leave and we're too polite to kick her out."

"What did you just say?" Misa asked, clearly able to tell that whatever Light had said to Mello was about her.

"I said that you're a lovely person and we're so happy to have your company today," Light smoothly replied without missing a beat.

"That's so sweet!" Misa gushed, and Light sent Mello a wink that Mello was to stunned to reply to.

"Misa shouldn't you be going?" L bluntly asked the girl.

"Never mind about the polite part," Light muttered.

"Yeah, I probably should." It was surprising that Misa agreed instead of being offended by L's comment. "I'll see you two tomorrow! Bye Mello!"

"Bye." Mello didn't think she heard his farewell, as she was already out to door as he spoke it.

"Hallelujah," Light deadpanned.

"If you wanted her to leave you should have just said something." To Mello relief, L said this in English.

"That would have been rude," Light dismissed.

"She didn't seem to think that," L pointed out.

"Coming from you it's not rude," Light tried to explain. "But coming from anyone else it is."

"He gave up learning social skills when he was a kid," Mello informed Light. "At first I thought that I was lucky to grow up in our family and have some idea how to behave in public, but now I think that he has the better deal."

"Ignorance is bliss," Light agreed, ignoring the glare that L sent him.

"Speaking of no social skills," Mello segued. "B's staying over for the week."

"Did he get expelled already?" L groaned.

"No," Mello resisted the urge to laugh at the lack of faith L had in his younger brother. "They get a fall break in America, he decided to visit home."

L nodded, looking slightly relieved to know that Beyond was still enrolled in the university that he had worked so hard to get into.

"He said that you'd say that," Mello let L know.

"It's not an unreasonable thing for me to assume," L's tone turned fractious.

"He also says that he used up all of his desire for getting kicked out of school back when the two of you lived under the same roof," Mello added.

"If he couldn't out do me in grades, he could out do me in trouble," L remembered.

"What kind of logic is that?" Light sounded appalled.

"B logic," Mello informed him.

"It ruled our house with an iron fist for years," L added.

"Remind me never to visit your house," Light remarked.

"I doubt you'll be in the neighborhood anytime soon, considering you've never been out of Japan before."

"That was a joke, L," Light rolled his eyes.

"Really?" It was unclear if L was teasing his roommate or honestly hadn't realized that Light was kidding. "It wasn't a very good one."

They talked for another hour. Mello continued to fill L in on the goings on back at the house. Mello usually did this when neither of them had anything important to talk about, partly to keep the conversation going and partly so that Neat wouldn't have any news to tell L the next day. Light listened to their conversation, and would comment every so often. Mello found this a little odd, considering it was rare for L to let anyone outside of the family hear the details of their lives. Maybe L had bonded with his roommate? If this were the case, Mello was glad. L finding a friend was not an often occasion, and it was nice to think that he had at least one person to look out for him in Japan.

When L finally told Mello that he needed to go and hung up on him, Mello found himself with nothing else to fill the rest of his day. Not fully expecting and response, he message Matt. To his surprise, Matt replied only seconds later.

 _Do you spend the entire weekend at your friend's house?_ Mello couldn't help asking.

 _When I don't feel welcome at mine._

Mello had not expected so serious of a answer, and was unsure what he should say back. Not wanting their to be an awkward silence after Matt had said something semi-personal, he replied with the first thing that came to mind.

 _You mean because you're grounded?_

"Shit," Mello mutter at himself. He hadn't meant to ask another question, and it was likely that this would make it sound as if he had no idea where Matt was coming from. In reality he knew all too well what it felt like to not feel welcome at the place you were supposed to call home, fortunately being adopted into Wammy's House (he and his sibling nickname for their new home) had saved him from this feeling.

 _That and other stuff._

 _Sorry._

 _Why? It's not your fault._

Mello couldn't tell him Matt meant this as a joke or honestly had no idea why he was apologizing.

 _I know, but it still sucks that you have to go through that._

They were talking as if they actually knew each other in person. This should have made Mello uncomfortable, but for some reason it didn't. He had only been talking to Matt for two months, but if they had known each other in real life for that long it would be easy for them to become close friends. After all, they thought alike and were able to talk for hours on end without boring each other.

 _Thanks. Do you want to play something?_

Matt's message pulled Mello out of his thoughts. He couldn't stop the dryness of it from destroying the yearning that he had been feeling seconds ago. Matt was his online friend, but it was foolish for him to imagine realities where this scenario was any different. Besides, the fact that they got along well through a keyboard and a screen didn't mean that they would in real life. The real Matt was probably nothing like the boy that he was texting, and Mello wasn't sure how true to himself he was through these conversations. It was better that they didn't actually know each other. At least that way Mello couldn't get bored of him.


	4. Chapter 4

_Friday, October 31st_

"Do you not understand the meaning of the term grounded?" Mail asked Linda in astonishment.

"Not if it means that they let you spend all of your time at my house," Linda snapped back. "Are your parents really stupid enough to think that you're not using my computer and cell phone to cheat the fact that they took your away?"

"My mom probably figured it out," Mail considered this. "But I don't think my dad even knowns I'm over here."

Linda didn't push this subject, and Mail was grateful that he had told her some extend of his family issues.

"However," Mail continued. "Just because my mother lets me cheat on my grounding by getting a few hours of computer time, doesn't mean that she'd let me go to a Halloween party."

"Come on," Linda complained. "You know I'm too shy to go by myself!"

"I'm sorry, but did you just call yourself shy?" Mail gapped at her, but she ignored him.

"Tell her that I need someone to go trick-or-treating with me," she suggested.

"You realize you're only one year younger than me, right?"

"Tell her the truth then," Linda was exasperated. "I'm too scared to go to a party by myself and it's not fair that I should have to suffer because you don't know how to hide the fact that you're playing a video game in class!"

"Like she'd fall for that," Mail huffed.

One hour later Linda was dragging Mail into a crowded mall as she tried to find him a last minute costume.

"I still can't believe my mom fell for that," Mail mumbled to himself.

"You can marvel at my magical powers of persuasion later," Lind said pointedly. "Now focus on find a costume that fits you."

"Can't I just be a zombie or something?" he asked.

"I'm not putting zombie make up on your face, that takes ages," she dismissed his idea.

"Fine," he shuffled through the rack of clothes in front of him. "I'll be a vampire, all I need is teeth and a cape."

"Get a wig too," she instructed. "Vampires don't have bright red hair."

"Yes they do," Mail argued. "My hair is blood red, it's perfect!"

"It's cliché," she informed him.

"I think it's hot," he muttered. "But I'll get a wig if it bothers you that much. And pale make up, that way no one will recognize me."

"Why don't you want anyone to recognize you?"

"I don't like a lot of the people at my school, and it's possible that they might show up," Mail shrugged.

"Then be something with a mask," she suggested.

"I'll be a vampire with a superhero mask," Mail decided.

"You're joking," she rolled her eyes.

"At first yes, but I'm liking the idea."

"Mail," Linda groaned.

"Nope, you can't change my mind, I'm sticking with this," he crossed his arms for emphasis. "What are you going to be?"

"A zombie."

"I thought you didn't have time for zombie make up?"

"I don't for you, but I do for me," she told him with a slight smirk.

Mail rolled his eyes.

—

 _Happy Halloween!_

 _I'll be happy if I don't get roped into wandering my neighborhood with my brother and collecting candy he's not going to eat._

Mail chucked at Mello's pessimist reply.

 _At least you can get the candy._

 _No, he'll make sure that I can't get my hands on any of the good stuff. Do you have plans?_

 _Against my will and grounding._

Mail figured that this was vague enough, although he didn't mind explaining that Linda was forcing him to go to a party. He hadn't thought of a code name to refer to Linda as yet, but she was the only friend that he had mentioned to Mello. Which Mail knew made him sound like a complete loner, but that wasn't exactly far from the truth. He doubted that Mello could judge him, since he spent most of his lunch at whatever school he attended messaging him.

 _Have fun._

Mail couldn't tell is this was Mello's version of sarcasm or optimism.

 _We'll see._

—

When Linda had originally told Mail that she needed him to come to a Halloween party with her, he had assumed it was at the house of someone she knew from school. It was only when they arrived at the night club that this theory was disproven. His shock must have shown on his face, because she quickly explained to him that she wasn't trying to crash a rave.

"They throw teen only parties on special occasions," she told him. "We're not going to get in trouble, there shouldn't even be any alcohol."

"I doubt that," Mail voiced.

"Yeah," she thought this over. "I'd stay away from the punch if I were you. But, aside from that, everything should be fine."

"Why did I agree to this?" Mail groaned.

"Come on," she urged him. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Hiding."

Despite his complaints, he followed her into the club. The room was dark, only lit by a cool blue light. Tables that he guessed normally took up half of the space had been pushed to the wall farthest from them. Aside from the empty bar and a long table with food and punch, the entire room was a dance floor populated by overexcited high schoolers. It took seconds for Linda to be invited to join this crowd, and Mail was too relieved to be offended that no one had bothered to ask him to dance either.

"Go ahead, I'm fine over here," Mail told her when she didn't reply to the boy who had asked her if she wanted to dance with him.

"You sure?" Linda asked, her face full of guilt for dragging him to the party and then abandoning him.

"Yeah," Mail said as if he didn't care. "I'll catch up with you in a bit."

"Okay."

With that Mail was alone at the party he had not wanted to attend in the first place. Trying to shrug of his overwhelming need to go home, Mail sat down at the bar. No one was bartending, and all of the alcohol had been taken away, but it was still an alright spot to try to blend into the furniture. In fact, Mail would have been confident that no one in the party was able to notice him if it wasn't for what happened a few seconds later.

The moment that Mail was confident that he was invisible to the rest of the teenagers around him, a boy wearing a dark blue masquerade mask with dark eyeliner (and eye shadow), and long blonde hair with dark blue streaks (that Mail was fairly sure was a wig) sat down two seats away from him. Mail knew that this would sound rude if he said it out loud, but the only reason that he could tell that the person sitting not too far from him was a not a girl was the fact that the only thing that he was wearing on his upper body was an unzipped leather jacket. The boy sat with his legs draped around his chair, left arm leaning against the bar, and faced Mail, giving him perfect view of said upper body.

"Hey," Mail wasn't sure if it was the party's atmosphere, or the fact that the room was too dark and he knew that no one would recognize him through the black mask Linda had let him buy, that motivated him the talk to the blonde boy in the leather.

"Hey yourself," the boy replied in a welcoming tone. "Didn't feel like dancing?"

"Dancing's not really my thing," Mail confessed. "You?"

"Don't feel like dancing with anyone over there," the blonde gestured to the dance floor populated in underdressed teenagers. "I'm not _that_ desperate."

"If you're complaining about their clothing, I'm pretty sure you're just as guilty," Mail told him blandly.

"My friend forced me to wear this," he told Mail with a smirk. "But I guess it's my fault for owning it in the first place."

"I'm not complaining." The words left Mail's mouth before he could stop them.

"Oh really?" If the blonde's face wasn't covered, Mail was sure that he would be raising an eye brow. "In that case, do you want to dance?"

"I told you dancing's not really my thing," Mail reminded him.

"I thought you might want to make an exception," the boy responded.

Mail took a few seconds to consider this. Why not dance with this guy? After all, hot strangers rarely even talked to Mail, much less flirted with him. It wasn't like Linda was around at he moment to miss him or to makes jokes about him cheating on his "online boyfriend." Although he was sure that she would encourage him to dance with the stranger in leather, considering she had been chiding him on his sense of adventure before they entered the party.

"Alright," Mail stood up from his chair. "I'll let you lead."

The boy hopped out of his seat and grabbed Mail by the hand, tugging him through the crowd of people and to an empty place on the dance floor. Fortunately the spot was out of the way and relatively in the shadows. Mail wasn't sure that he was bold enough to dance with another guy in front of the rest of the party, even if neither of their faces could be seen. It wasn't that Mail was embarrassed, he just didn't like the idea of the other high schoolers watching him.

Mail let the boy's arms snake around his waist, as he placed his around the boy's shoulders. The veil of darkness and lack of acquaintance with his dance partner prevented Mail from turning into the awkward mess he was sure he would be under any other circumstance. The two of them swayed in the dimly lit room, trying to match the music's slow rhythm with their bodies. Swaying turned to small steps, and Mail was surprised that so little movement could be so captivating.

The ambiance wasn't romantic. No that would be the wrong word. If it wasn't for a invisible shell that the two of them had somehow created around them, Mail would have been back to feeling uncomfortable in the loud room full of people he disliked. Yet, being in the arms of the extremely attractive stranger didn't necessarily make the moment romantic. How could it if Mail and the boy in leather hadn't even exchanged names? No, dancing with the blonde wasn't romantic. It was sultry.

The fact that dancing with a muscularly toned and masked boy (who was only drawn to Mail out of a whole room of better looking people) felt like a scenario straight out of his fantasied, only helped set the mood even more. The blonde pulled Mail closer, so Mail put his head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of the cheep leather jacket. When the song ended he didn't want to let go, but he did allow himself to pull back a little.

"That was nice," he blurted before he could think of something smoother to say.

"Yeah," the boy's voice sounded more like he was breathing than speaking.

That when when Mail leaned into the boy that he met less than five minutes ago, pressing their lips together. The soft fabric of his mask brushed against the cardboard and navy blue glitter of the boy's. The full realization of what he was doing only hit when the boy grabbed hold of his shirt collar and returned the kiss.

Mail reminded himself why his sense of adventure usually remained hidden.

* * *

 **I know, I know, I missed Halloween by four days. Just pretend it's still October.**

 **Thank you to Corliss Kat, Lunacat247, brightnight003, Carotta, and Anonsass for reviewing!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Friday, October 31st_

Mello's attitude had been "why not?" from the moment he had decided to go to the party, or 'mini rave' as Halle called it. Every Halloween Mello had been roped into trick-or-treating with L, who stole most of his candy, and Near, who threw out whatever was left of both of their loot. This time he didn't see the point. If Beyond was going to chaperon him and Near walking around the neighborhood at night it was likely that not all of them would come back alive.

This was why Mello had called Halle and asked if she had any plans. She detested parties as much as he did, and was not planning on going to the one that she had been invited to. Needing an out for the night of "sibling time" Mello had begged her to go a bring him along. He didn't have a costume, so the two of them had assembled his outfit fifteen minutes before they left for the party. The jacket and tight pants were Mello's and Halle had brought along the mask and blue hair dye (which she assured him would wash out).

Once at the party Mello had planned to stick with her, but she was off with her other school friends before he could register her asking him if he'd be okay by himself for a bit. She hadn't waited for an answer to that question, and had left Mello to conner the only person in the crowded club who looked like more of a loner than he did. Phrasing it like that made him sound like a pervert...

That was how Mello ended up snogging the boy in the vampire costume. In Mello's defense, what he could see of the boy's face was cute, and it wasn't like he was the one who had started it. Sure, he had asked the kid to dance. All right, he may have violated a bit more of the guy's personal space while dancing than he had intended to. Yes, he hadn't hesitated to respond to the kiss. And, of course, he was having the time of his life! But he could still say that he hadn't been the one to start it.

It was true that he hadn't hesitated to flirty with the boy that he had just met, but that didn't mean that doing so was in character for him. In fact Mello could not remember being this outright with anyone before in his life. Once again, he blamed this on his "why not?" attitude and the fact that the kid in the vampire costume was very attractive.

Come to think of it, Mello didn't see the problem in the fact that they were now kissing. They had just met, but most of the people at this party either attended Mello's school or one near by. In fact, it was possible that they did know each other and Mello hadn't been able to recognize the boy as one of his classmates. This fact did not comfort him, and he couldn't help but shudder at the thought that he may be currently pressed up against one of the people that he spent his day trying to avoid.

"Are you okay?" The vampire kid had pulled back enough to get the question out.

"I'm great." Mello inwardly cursed himself for letting his brief moment of repulsion show.

At least his theory that he may know they boy had dissolved. It was unlikely that any of his classmates would have shown concern, he could see most of them ignoring wether he was alright or not until he made it clear. Leaning in again, Mello was about to continue what his annoying thought process had interrupted when a familiar voice startled him.

"Mello!"

"No, that is not fair," Mello groaned under his breath, before turning on his heels. "B, what are you doing here?"

"You were supposed to go trick-or-treating with Near," Beyond told him.

"You saw me walk out the front door with my friend, if you wanted me to go trick-or-treating why didn't you stop me?" Mello questioned.

"Oh, I don't really care," Beyond shrugged. "But none of us are aloud in his neighborhood after the incident-"

"I'm not going to stab a kid like you did!" Mello exclaimed, regretting voicing this in a public area immediately.

"I didn't _actually_ stab him," Beyond argued.

"It's the thought that counts," Mello deadpanned

Some of the other party guests were staring now, Mello felt a twinge of embarrassment, but Beyond didn't seem to notice. Mello repressed a sigh. He glanced over his shoulder at the boy that he had been making out with less than a minute ago.

"I have to go," he stated.

Mello was already walking away when the boy spoke back, but Mello didn't hear him.

"Wait," the boy had called. "What did he say your name was?"

Beyond had parked illegally in front of the bar. When Mello noticed Near in the backseat he wished that the car had been towed. Near was dressed in his usual white collared shirt and pants that resembled pajamas. They only thing on him that indicated the holiday was a cat-ear head band perched on his white hair.

"I'm guessing I have you to thank for being hauled out of there," Mello narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"I don't like to go trick-or-treating by myself," Near voiced.

"I'm too old to trick-or-treat, and so are you," Mello informed him. "It's not like you even keep the candy."

"I was promised half of it," Beyond stated and he started the car.

"He won't make good on that," Mello said blandly. "That's what he said to L every year, but all of the candy ended up in the trash anyway."

"At this point we're not going, so there's use arguing," Near monotoned.

"You're going to tell on me, aren't you?" Mello reasoned, wondering how much Near had actually wanted to spend the holiday the way that normal children did.

Near didn't say anything.

"I might," Beyond shrugged. "Depending on the mood I'm in when we get home."

"The trouble maker becomes the tattle-tale," Mello observed. "College really does change you."

"People don't change," Near said softly.

"Wait," something dawned on Mello. "When you noticed me I wasn't even facing you and the room was dark. How did you know it was me?"

"He followed your sent," Near attempted a joke.

"Shut up," Mello told him.

"I recognized your hair," Beyond explained.

"But half of it is dyed," Mello exclaimed. "And that's kind of creepy."

"Thank you," Beyond genuinely viewed this as a complement.

* * *

When the three of them arrived home, Beyond and Near decided that they both wanted to be the bigger person and did not rat Mello out for going to the party. Mello did his best not to feel guilty for ruining their holiday. Once he was in the privacy of his room, he sent a message to Matt. He wasn't sure if he should expect a response, since Matt had mentioned having plans. After waiting for a few minutes, he put his computer on sleep and pulled out his phone to text L.

 _Happy birthday_

Mello had meant to text this earlier, and was fully aware that it was no longer L's birthday in Japan. L also wasn't fond of anyone reminding him of his date of birth, so Mello didn't feel bad of being a few hours late. If L did respond the text was just a conversation starter, not a mandatory topic of discussion.

 _It's not my birthday anymore._

L's reply was predictable, but Mello didn't feel the need to state this.

 _Isn't it four-thirty in the morning where you are?_

 _Yes._

 _Shouldn't you be sleeping?_

 _No._

Mello rolled his eyes.

 _I feel sorry for your roommate._

 _Don't. He gets more sleep than he needs._

Mello was still texting L an hour later when Matt sent him a message. Not wanting to have two conversations at once, Mello told L that he was going to bed and turned his phone off. As if to distance what he said from an outright lie, Mello unplugged his charging laptop and took it to his bed.

 _Are you still awake?_ Matt had asked.

 _Yep. How was your Halloween._

 _Pretty good. Yours?_

 _Boring._ Mello didn't mind being honest. _Although one interesting thing happened._

 _What?_

Mello wasn't sure if Matt expected him to elaborate or was just teasing, technically telling Matt what happened to him didn't fall under giving personal information. After all, he knew that Matt was grounded and on his friends computer. How bad would it be for him to tell Matt that he kissed a cute boy at a party? Deciding that he didn't mind sharing, Mello told Matt part of what happened.

 _You're gay?_ Matt asked after Mello mentioned kissing the boy.

Mello instantly regretted telling the story. He had no shame in expressing who he was to someone that he knew, but saying something like this fell into the list of things that Mello didn't want Matt to know about him. You don't tell an anonymous stranger your sexuality. What it Matt was homophobic? Well, then Mello supposed it was better than he stopped messaging him now. He didn't want to spend any of his time talking to someone narrow-minded, wether he actually knew them or not.

 _Is there a problem if I am?_ Mello typed back coolly, he didn't want it to seem like the question had phased him.

 _No!_ Matt replied quickly. _Sorry if that sounded rude, I just asked because I thought that I was the only guy on this site who wasn't straight._

 _Oh. Sorry._

Mello felt like an idiot.

 _No problem! So, if you don't mind me asking, did you get that cute guy's number?_

 _No, I got dragged out of the party before I could ask him for it. Too bad, but I guess it's a better story now._

 _Yeah._

Matt had to leave shortly after that. Mello decided that he should try to go to sleep, but spent the next few minutes staring at his ceiling and thinking about the boy in the vampire costume. The more he thought about the kid the more Mello wished that he had gotten his number, or at least his name. It wasn't likely that they'd run into each other again, and if they did it was even less likely that they would recognize each other. Still, Mello couldn't stop himself from wondering: what if?

* * *

 **Thank you to Carottal and Corliss Kat for reviewing!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Wednesday, November 19th_

"I still do not understand why you haven't just told him yet," Linda informed Mail in a harsh whisper as the two of them ate breakfast.

Linda's parents had to leave early for work, so she had decided that spending an hour in the dysfunctional house that Mail called home was better than eating alone. Her reasons became clear once Mail's mother left the kitchen to get ready and Linda began nagging Mail about her new favorite subject. Truthfully, Mail didn't mind that this was the hundredth time she had asked this question, as long as it meant that he could talk about Mello he was happy.

"Because I don't want him to think that I'm some crazy stalker," Mail told her, although he was sure that she expected this answer.

"But you are," she giggled.

Mail gave her a pointed look.

"Sorry," she muttered. "But, if you find him and try to talk to him face to face he's only going to think that you're even more of a stalker."

"I know," Mail confessed. "But I think I could get through to him if we talked in real life. I could get him to understand."

"You're so in love," she rolled her eyes. "I would be jealous, but I can't see myself trying to track the guy down."

"It's a wild-goose chase," Mail sighed. "I don't know where to look at this point."

"Can I ask you a question," Linda's tone had changed to a serious one.

"What?"

"You have to promise not to get upset or anything," she told him.

"Okay," Mail allowed. "What's bugging you?"

"You only actually met this guy once right?" She started. "And when you did all the two of you did was make out. I mean, it's really romantic, but how do you know that you actually like each other?"

"I can't explain it," Mail knew that he was dangerously close to blushing. "And it's not like I'm in love with him or anything, I just know that we think alike, enjoy talking, and are attracted to each other. That's enough to hunt him down, right?"

"I guess," Linda grinned. "Just don't freak him out when you find him."

"No promises."

It had been two and a half weeks since Mail had accidentally met and kissed his online friend. When Mello had explained him his side of the story, Mail had been sorely tempted to tell Mello who he was. Luckily he had been able to stop himself, since it was likely that saying something like that would have ended all future conversations that he could have with the boy. Yet, now that they had actually met, Mail couldn't bring himself to be content with only talking to Mello online. He wanted to see him again, partly because he wanted to kiss him and partly because he was confident that he had finally met someone who understood the way that his mind worked. If they could keep up with each other online, he could hardly imagine what it would be like to have a full conversation with Mello in person.

In the past two and a half weeks Mail had made no progress in finding Mello. He had tried to track down other people who had went to the party via social media, and Linda had even asked around to see if anyone that she knew had met the boy in the leather jacket before. Although many had noticed Mello, and Mail had spotted him in the background of a few of the pictures put online about the party, he hadn't come anywhere near finding him.

* * *

If there was one thing that Mail hated it was being late to class. This wasn't because he was worried that he would miss something important, or that his tardy would be marked down in his record. None of this bothered him. He just hated having to stumble into the room and to his desk while everyone's eyes were on him and his teacher shot him a very annoyed look.

This was why Mail was running down the hall of his school. He had spent his lunch hiding in the back of the library, and, since he had no cell phone or computer, had lost track of the time. Now he was late and willing to blame this on an impractical punishment from his parents. Although he was fully aware that most would say it was his own fault for not wanting to eat in the cafeteria like a normal tenth-grader.

Mail had never been the most graceful person, and when he was in a hurry he tended not to pay much attention to his surroundings. When he tripped on his own shoe and fell splat onto the hard cement, there was no one to blame but himself. That didn't mean that there wasn't anyone around to witness him take a nosedive, but Mail knew that the blonde boy standing at the end of the hall was no way responsible for his fall.

"Are you alright?" The kid asked, he swiftly walked to where Mail was and offered him a hand.

"Yeah," Mail lied. The muscles in the arm that he had used to break his fall were screaming. "Thanks."

"Late for class?" The kid asked.

"Yup," Mail sighed. "You too?"

"Free period," the boy replied with a knowing smile.

"Lucky."

"I know right," he said cheekily.

Mail took a second to look the guy over. They boy was wearing the school uniform, but it was clear that he was one of the many students that did not want to be doing so. The sleeves of his collared shirt were pulled up past his elbows and the knees of his black dress pants were torn. This could have been argued to be an accident, but Mail was confident that that boy had made the cuts in his pants on purpose because he liked the way it looked. His tie was hanging loosely and more of the buttons on his shirt were open than done. It was only when Mail was taking in the boy's appearance that he recognized him.

"Hey, didn't I just run into you a couple weeks ago?" Mail asked. "Which makes you the witness of two clumsy embarrassing moments."

"That one was my fault," the boy assured him and Mail laughed.

"I better get to class," he remembered.

"Walk this time," the boy told him.

Mail took off into a run anyway.

* * *

"It's getting kind of annoying that you spend half of your time at my house just so that you can talk to your internet boyfriend," Linda said to Mail that afternoon.

"That's not true," Mail couldn't resist adding a joke. "It's also because I'm avoiding my parents."

"I see where I stand," she muttered and when back to her drawing.

"If you just gave me your computer we wouldn't be having this argument," Mail tried to make his tone sly.

"If I gave you my computer your parents would find it and then we'd both be in trouble," she aid flatly. "Sorry, but if you want to talk to him you have to do so here."

"That's fine with me," Mail confessed. "It's just inconvenient that I can't message him during school or at night."

"You want to text him at night, huh?" She waggled her eyebrows.

"Not what I meant," Mail muttered.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have played your video game during class," she pointed out in a practical tone. "If you hadn't gotten yourself into trouble then you wouldn't be grounded in the first place."

"I guess," Mail wasn't in the mood to argue about this subject.

He turned his attention away from Linda and back to the conversation he was having with Mello. Not for the first time in the past two and a half weeks, Mail found himself wondering what Mello looked like under the mask and makeup he had been wearing. Although they had met, it was comical how little of Mello's appearance Mail had seen. If they were to meet again, would Mail be able to recognize him? Mail would like to think that he would some how know that it was Mello, but thoughts like this were overly romantic. Hopefully he'd be able to recognize Mello's voice, because, aside from knowing what the boy's chest and abdomen looked like, he didn't have much else to go on.

* * *

 **Thank you to Corliss Kat, brightnight003, , Carley-Carley-Carley, and Ern Estine 13624 for reviewing!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Thursday, November 20th_

Mello checked his email on his cell phone every morning as soon as he woke up. Before this was because getting a message from Matt gave him a reason to drag himself out of bed, but, at the moment, it was just a habit. Matt only messaged him after school hours, and Mello rarely received other emails, yet it was still the first thing that he did each day.

This was how he was the first one in the family to find out about Beyond's latest predicament. Beyond's email, with the subject: READ THIS NOW, was the only new message that Mello received. Mello had never considered himself an optimistic person, yet he oddly wasn't filled with dread once he received his older brother's virtual letter. However, once he clicked on and read the first few lines of the email, Mello couldn't help but groan at said brother, despite knowing he could not hear him.

Beyond didn't go into much detail regarding the trouble that he had gotten himself into this time. He didn't bother promising that whatever happened wouldn't happen again, but, given that this was Beyond, Mello had not expect those words. Getting down the the point, Beyond had asked if Mello would mind hacking Wammy's computer just incase the school informed the person paying his tuition of what he had been up to. Beyond also asked that Mello not tell L anything about what had just happened.

Mello had to admit he was tempted to email back flatly denying Beyond's request and telling him that he was on his own. However, partly because he owed Beyond for not telling on him about the party on Halloween, and partly because he wanted to see if he would be able to get into Wammy's computer without getting caught, Mello agreed to help. Keeping the secret from L would be easier said than done, mainly because Mello didn't filter much when talking to L and it was rare for him to keep interesting information from his older brother. L moving had enforced this even more, due to Mello's need to keep his favorite family member connected the goings on of the household. The only thing that Mello hadn't told about L in the past few months was Matt, and that was only because he didn't want to explain meeting a friend online to his social skill lacking brother.

Mello was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of two short knocks on his door. This was code for 'get up now.' Since L and Beyond had moved out, no one was brave enough to enter Mello's room the the morning in fear of encountering the grumpy version of Mello. Considering he had thrown his stapler (conveniently setting at his bedside table) at Near the last time he had tried to tell him to get out of bed, Mello couldn't blame his family for not wanting to bother him.

Deleting Beyond's email and sliding his phone into the pocket of the jacket he planned to wear, Mello prepared himself to face another school day.

* * *

Mello was speed walking to the hiding place that he spent his lunch period, when he saw a semi-familiar head of red hair. Usually when he recognized someone that he knew in the hall he didn't rush to say hello or anything to them for that matter. It was even more out of character for him to say something to a kid that he had only met once, and didn't even remember being told the name of. However, he was over come by the urge to be social, oddly not being able to snuff out this impulse.

"Hey," he hear his own voice say.

"Hi," the redhead said back with a grin, after turing around at Mello's greeting and seeming slightly started.

Mello continued to walk down the hall, but the kid was apparently headed in the same direction as he was, and his strides were soon matching Mello's.

"I didn't get your name the other day," the kid said. "You know, after you watched me smoothly dive into the ground."

"You're making you tripping sound a lot worse than it was," Mello informed the boy. "I'm Mihael."

"Mail," the boy extended his hand for Mello to shake and his continued talking. "It's a weird name, and most people usually can't pronounce it right. The fact that it's spelt as in the mode of communication that the internet and cellphones are steadily driving into extinction doesn't help much."

"Miel?" Mello repeated the name the way that the boy had spoken it.

"Yeah," Mail said. "It's an odd name and contrasts with my irritatingly un-odd parents."

"Half of the people that I meet either call me Michael of Michel," Mello told him. "Trust me when I say I understand odd names."

"What grade are you in?" Mail asked.

"Tenth, you?"

"Same," he relied. "It's weird that I haven't seen you around before."

"It's a big school," Mello shrugged. _That and I spend most of my time avoiding other students._

"Yeah," Mail admitted. "Do you have a class right now?"

"No, lunch." Anticipating that Mail's next question would be why he was so far from the cafeteria, Mello quickly asked: "Are you headed to class?"

"No." Mail didn't add why he was so far from the cafeteria, as they had reached the library which Mello realized was Mail's destination. "See you around, Mihael."

"Bye."

Mail flashed a smile that Mello thought was a little to cheery for someone who was spending their free time away from his peers. Mello grinned back before he continued on his way to where he would be eating. He couldn't help replaying the conversation that he'd just had in his head as he walked down the hall. It wasn't that talking to Mail had much of an effect on Mello, it was just that thinking about him gave his bored mind something to focus on. If he were being completely honest with himself, it was more than the boy's friendly nature and the fact that he seemed to be willingly spending lunch alone that threw Mello off guard. Yes, he would admit that he thought Mail was cute, but that was the extent of his thoughts on the kid. Probably.

Mello paused his inner musings to log into the gaming site on his phone. He knew that Matt was probably still grounded, but wanted to check if he had sent him a message earlier that morning. He had been too busy reading Beyond's email to check the gaming site. To Mello's surprise Matt had sent him a message two minutes ago.

 _So you're not grounded anymore?_ He asked.

 _Nope._ Matt instantly replied. _Still in trouble. I'm on a school computer, thankfully they didn't block this site._

 _So you're aloud to play games on school computers?_ Mello knew that this was against the rules at his school, but maybe Matt's was more relaxed.

 _Nope. If I disappear it's because I librarian caught me._

 _Um…_

 _I'm kidding. I won't get caught._

Mello shrugged, deciding not to worry about Matt getting in trouble at school.

 _This is the first time we talked without your friend reading over your shoulder in weeks._

 _Yep. Have any embarrassing secrets you need to get off your chest?_

"No, just annoying ones about my brother nearly getting kicked out of school," Mello muttered.

He considered telling Matt a version of this story. It would be nice to be able to express his frustration to someone, and, if Matt couldn't keep the secret, he didn't know who Mello or Beyond were. Beyond would be angry if Mello told anyone, but he wouldn't find out about this.

Mello pushed the idea away. He'd still feel as if he was betraying Beyond's trust, and it did mean something that he was the only one Beyond had told about this. Also he didn't want to his and Matt's limited conversation time talking about his brother's issues.

 _No. You?_

 _My life has been completely boring for the past three weeks. Tell me something interesting!_

 _Um…_

 _Please…!_

Mello considered correcting Matt's use of punctuation. That would at least give him a few seconds to stall thinking of something interesting to tell him, although he didn't doubt that Matt would call him on this. An idea of something that he could say flickered into Mello's mind. He knew that this would be stretching the truth, but it wouldn't technically be lying. Matt was the one who was desperate for some sort of story.

 _Well…_

If he wasn't going to scold Matt's punctuation, then Mello felt no guilt over using ellipses.

 _Well?_

Matt's reaction was encouragement enough.

 _I met a hot guy. Five minutes ago._

Maybe the word "hot" hadn't exactly been what he was thinking when he had talked to Mail. And, maybe, he was making his conversation seem a lot more exciting than it actually had been. But Matt had not way of knowing this. It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed Mail's attractiveness at all, or that he was making the encounter up.

It took two minutes for Matt to send the message: _Oh._

 _Not interesting enough?_

 _No. But why do you always meet hot boys? I never do._

 _Don't worry. It happening twice in a row was a coincidence. Usually I never meet anyone._

This was the full truth.

They continued to talk about boys, or lack thereof, to the point that Mello compared them to gushing ninth-grade girls. Mello almost didn't notice when lunch ended. Since luck had a way of spiting him, he only glanced at the time two minutes after class was supposed to start.

 _I have to go._ He quickly type. _Sorry._

 _No problem! Me too!_

Mello hurriedly shoved his phone into his bag, not bothering it zip it as he pulled it around his shoulders and darted down the hall. A string of muttered curse words poured from his lips as he ran. His gym teacher was going to kill him. Halle would probably laugh. Despite going as fast as he possibly could, Mello was able to stop his bolting when a red blur appeared in front of him as he pated the library.

"Sorry," Mail exclaimed.

"It's fine," Mello continued running, Mail following behind him.

"We're making a habit of this," Mail remarked.

"Neither of us fell this time," Mello pointed out.

"So we're getting better at it," Mail reasoned, absentmindedly pushing his red bangs out of his face.

"I like your hair," Mello heard himself blurt.

 _Where the hell did that come from?_ His thoughts demanded. He was pretty sure that his face about about to turn the same shade as said hair.

"Thanks," Mail replied to the compliment. "I like yours. It's long."

"Um," Mello drew out the salable. "Thanks?"

"That came out wrong, right?"

"Yeah," Mello chuckled.

"Sorry," Mail said sheepishly. "Where are you headed?"

"Gym."

"Oh, you're dead," Mail informed him. "That came out wrong again."

"I figured."

They parted ways at the next hall. Mail had significantly less of a journey than Mello. He would have felt jealous of this, if he wasn't so focused on not thinking about the trouble he was about to be in once he got to class.

"See you," Mail panted, running in the direction of his classroom.

"Yeah," Mello replied, although he doubted that the other boy was listening anymore.

He let his gaze linger on Mail before directing it to making sure he wasn't about to run into anything.

 _Maybe I wasn't very off when I described him as 'a hot guy I just met.'_ Mello couldn't help thinking.

* * *

It was only when Mello arrived home that night that everything clicked.

* * *

 **Thank you to , Corliss Kat, and brightnight003 for reviewing!**

 **, the repetition is intention and I'm glad that you noticed it!**


	8. Chapter 8

_Friday, November 21st_

"You need to put the sand in the filter paper now," Mail's lab partner's voice broke through his train of thought.

"Right," Mail quickly did as she told him. "Sorry."

"You're spacing out more than normal today," she remarked.

"Sorry," he repeated. "Chemistry is my space out class."

"Put it in the beaker now," she instructed.

"Why am I doing everything?" he asked as he places the cone of filter paper into the glass beaker.

"Because if you don't you're not going to do anything," she answered. "Just don't break anything this time."

"Got it," Mail chose not to get offended by this. "I pour the water now, right?"

"Yes," she handed him the beaker containing 20mL of tap water. "Then we wait for it to filter the salt through."

"Alright," Mail placed the empty water beaker on their desks next to the tray containing the experiment.

"Are you free tonight?" she asked him, out of the blue.

"Huh?" Mail asked back before his brain could form a more eloquent response.

"My sister and her friends rented out three bowling lane and bailed at the last minute," she explained. "I'm trying to get as many people to come so we don't waist the money."

"Sorry, I'm grounded," Mail confessed.

 _And antisocial,_ he didn't add.

"Oh, that's too bad," she shrugged.

"Halle?" he asked as he directed his attention back to their lab. "What was the next step?"

* * *

"You're going bowling with your friend tonight," Mail' mother told him the second that he walked through the door.

Mail had hoped that, after spending the last half hour walking home with his heavy school bag on his back, he would be able to sneak to his room without a confrontation with either of his parents. Like most of Mail's hopes, this one was quickly dashed.

"I'm what?"

"Your friend, Halle I think her name was, called the house ten minutes ago," she said. "She invited you to go bowling with some of the other kids from your school."

"I know, she asked me in class today," Mail cut in. "But I told her I couldn't because I'm grounded. I am still grounded, right?"

"Yes," she told him in a stern voice. "But I've decided to give you a short break tonight."

"I don't want to go," Mail admitted. "Can I have a break tomorrow."

"Darling." Mail had learned long ago to brace himself for the worse whenever his mother addressed him by that word. "You need more friends from your school. This will be good for you."

"I never said that I don't have any friends," Mail tried to object.

"You're going."

"Fine," he sighed.

Mail knew that the more he argued, the more set in her ways his mother would become. About two hours later he found himself being dropped off outside of a bowling alley that he had been to only once before in his life. Linda had refused to go with him, claiming that she had too much homework and didn't like bowling anyway. Mail had to pay for shoes at the door, even though he doubted that he'd do anything aside from watch Halle and her friends bowl. It took him all of two seconds to spot the three lanes that Halle had reserved, and another four seconds to recognize the blonde sulking to the side of the lane closest to the wall.

"Hi," he greeted Mihael.

Mihael had been staring at the screen of his cellphone, but slid it into his pocket when he saw Mail.

"We're running into each other a lot," Mihael commented blandly. "One of us should keep score."

"You don't look happy to be here," Mail remarked as he sat down on the bench next to Mihael.

"Halle forced me against my will to come," Mihael explained.

"Oh," Mail processed this. "Are you guys dating?"

Mihael's expression contorted into one of mixed amusement and horror.

"No," he stated. "Not at all."

"Sorry," Mail felt this was the right thing to say given Mihael's reaction.

"No, it's okay," Mihael was laughing now.

Mail's gaze drifted to Halle and her friends. He could recognize most of the kids bowling from their school.

"You're not going to join a game?" Mihael inquired.

"Maybe later," Mail shrugged. "I haven't gone bowling since I was seven. I'm not all that excited about embarrassing myself."

"If you don't want to bowl then why are you here?" Despite the condensation that these words would normally give, Mail herd no malice in Mihael's voice.

"I'm grounded."

Mihael raised an eyebrow, the amused expression back on his face.

"I mean," Mail started in an attempt to explain. "I'm supposed to be grounded, but my mother forced me to come because she thinks I need more social interaction."

"Okay," Mihael drew out the word.

"It sounds weirder than it is," Mail said in his defense.

"I'll take your word for it," Mihael said. "Why are you grounded?"

"I got caught playing a video game in class," Mail stated.

Mihael didn't look surprised, but Mail knew that he was hardly the first high schooler to get in trouble on those grounds.

"Do you play games a lot?" Mihael asked.

"Yeah." Mail decided to elaborate. "Usually I do on gaming websites. You know, when I'm not grounded and actually have my computer."

Mihael nodded. He looked like he was about to say something before an abrupt, annoyed look crossed over his face. Mail followed Mihael's line of vision, which had rested on a short boy with page white hair who was sitting to the side of the lane Halle was bowling at.

"I don't care if you're bored! You're the one who wanted to come," Mihael shouted at the boy.

The boy narrowed his eyes at Mihael but didn't shout back.

"Did you just have a telepathic conversation?" Mail couldn't stop himself from asking.

"He's my brother," Mihael seemed to think this was explanation enough. "What were you saying?"

"Something about video games," Mail shrugged, then decided that the conversation was too focused on him. "What do you do on your free time?

That was how the two launched into one of the most interesting conversations of Mail's life, starting with books, touching on the reasons why Mihael refused to watch or read any of the popular fanbases, and ending with how Mail's hair was actually natural.

"You're lying," Mihael decided.

"Why would I lie about my hair? I'm not a girl," Mail exclaimed.

"You are not born with hair that red," Mihael stuck to his opinion.

"Well I'm not proving it if that's what you're hinting at," Mail crossed his arms.

"No," Mihael laughed. "I was not hinting at that in the slightest."

"Excuse me for not understanding the brain of someone who hasn't even read Harry Potter," Mail huffed.

"That is unfair ammunition," Mihael complained.

"Everyone I know has read Harry Potter," Mail nearly shouted in mock exasperation.

"Did you zone out when I explained that if I'm going to read fantasy I'd rather read a classic?" Mihael asked. "Besides, my brother burned my house's copies of that series."

"What?" Mail glanced over the the white haired boy.

"No, not that brother," Mihael told him. "The crazy one."

"Oh," Mail wasn't sure what else to say.

"But he only burned them because L hadn't finished reading the fifth one," Mihael seemed to not realize how little of an explanation this was.

"How many siblings do you have?" Mail asked, picking through the jumbled information Mihael had just given him.

"Too many," he said flatly. "Three brothers, but two of them are in university now. What about you?"

"Unfortunately none," Mail remarked.

"At least your house is arson free," Mihael replied.

As much as Mail was enjoying talking to Mihael, the fact that time was very slowly dripping by began to get on his nerves. Both he and Mihael had to wait until the end of the party before either of them could go home. They soon discovered that depended on when Halle and her friends finally decided that they were bored.

"They'll get kicked out of the place sooner," Mail had realized after the first hour and a half.

"That might be a possibility," Mihael had said. "If this lasts another hour Near might steal the pins from that empty lane and make a tower."

"Then he and you will get kicked out, not the entire group of us." Mail reasoned.

"Probably," Mihael shrugged. "But that solves my problem."

"Thanks for abandoning me," Mail deadpanned.

"Don't worry. I'll make it look like you were our accomplice," Mihael assured him.

"And I'll be grounded for even longer," Mail predicted.

"If your parents have to force you into 'social interaction,' I don't get what you're missing out on while grounded."

"I guess not much," Mail admitted. "But I can only play video games once or twice a day on my friend's computer."

"I'd like to think that you could survive without that," Mihael's tone was bland.

"Well, it's not just video games," Mail wasn't sure why he was trying to defend how he spend his ungrounded free time.

"Do you have a girlfriend you miss texting or something?" Mihael asked in an unreadable tone.

"Not a girlfriend," Mail said before he could stop himself.

"Boyfriend?" Mihael sounded casual, which was somewhat of a relief. However, Mail hadn't meant to say anything implying that he was gay or that he was sort-of (not really) involved to someone he had only met a few days ago.

"Not exactly." Mail knew that, if he wanted to drop the subject, his word choice was poor at best.

Mihael raised an eyebrow.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Mail muttered.

"Oh," Mihael looked slightly taken-a-back. "Okay, that's fine."

 _Bollocks,_ Mail thought. _Now I offended him._

"I mean," Mail tried to make his voice sound as neutral as he could. "He's not my boyfriend, and he doesn't know I want him to be, but that's mainly because he doesn't know that we met in real life, but that's my fault because I didn't exactly tell him."

"What?" Mihael gave Mail the utterly baffled expression that Mail knew he had been giving him all night.

"That didn't make an sense, did it?" Mail cursed the blush that was beginning to heat his face.

"Try not speaking in run-on sentences," Mihael suggested.

"Okay."

Five minutes later Mail had spilled the his and Mello's entire story to Mihael.

"Wow," Mihael murmured once Mail was finished.

"You think I'm insane," Mail stated.

"No," Mihael said quickly. "No, I don't think you're insane. Borderline stalker, maybe, but you definitely have your brain intact."

"That does not make me feel any better," Mail groaned.

"It wasn't supposed to," Mihael cracked a smile. "So you like him that much?"

"Yeah."

"Well," Mihael face took on a pensive expression as he drew out the word. "It's kinda romantic."

"Really?"

"Like a cheesy, modern day Cinderella story," Mihael remarked.

"Oh," Mail was slightly downcast.

"But, if you're going for romance, I guess that's a good thing," Mihael added. "Good luck, Prince Charming."

* * *

 **I recently went to a sleep over with my sister and her girl friends, and since a bunch of girls and pillows equals watching chick-flicks and not sleeping, we ended up watching the Hilary Duff Cinderella Story movie. Five minutes into complaining with the Otaku-friend that this was the cheesiest movie ever made (despite how I remember loving it as a child) I realize how close the plot is to this fic. This discovery was followed by screaming, crying, and excessive fan art viewing (thanks to Otaku-friend) before I was able to face how incredibly cheesy this story is.**

 **Thank you to Ern Estine 13624, Corliss Kat, Carley-Carley-Carley, Anonsass, and brightnight003 for reviewing!**


	9. Chapter 9

_Saturday, November 22nd_

He wasn't angry. That emotion was something that he reserved for his most frustrating and rage-filled moments. Considering his family and social life, this meant that he was only angry about two times a week. Alright, three at the most. Yet this was not one of those allotted three. It was true that he was irritated, maybe overwhelmed, and definitely confused, but this emotion did not have the fire that his anger usually inspired.

Mello had been fairly sure that Mail and Matt were one and the same. However, he had needed the conformation that his conversation with Mail at the bowling had given him to fully believe this. Originally he had thought that the two of the meeting in real life at all, much less being in the same school together, had been a rare coincidence. He'd had no idea that the redhead from Halloween was Mail much less his online friend Matt. The fact that Mail was now searching for the mysterious Mello was icing on the cake. Mello had planned to tell Mail who he was during that conversation, but then he had heard that detail of Mail's story.

It wasn't that Mello wasn't interested in Mail. He'd be lying if he said that the boy wasn't attractive, and he enjoyed talking to him. It wasn't the fact that Mail was convinced that he was in love with Mello that was upsetting him, it was the fact that Mail had no idea that he was talking to the object of his affections. Sure, Mello hadn't given Mail the slightest hint, and maybe this was an over whimsical thought, but if Mail wanted to find Mello that badly couldn't he tell when he was looking at him? If he thought about that night so often, wasn't there some element of Mello that he would have been able to recognize? Mail claimed that he knew Mello through their online conversations, but if he did wouldn't he make the connection between the dry humor and witty remarks he was hearing Mihael make?

Mello's internal monologue was interrupted by an annoying ringtone coming from his computer; he quickly clicked answer to L's Skype call.

"I need your advice on something." Mello stated the second that the monitor focused, skipping the formalities of saying 'hello' or 'how are you.'

It didn't take long for him to explain the entire situation to L, who surprisingly listened patiently (only interrupting with a slightly concerned remark when Mello was explaining the details of the Halloween party). Once he had finished, Mello had to admit (if not out loud) that he did feel relieved now that he had gotten the events of the past few weeks off of his chest.

"If he likes you that much I don't understand why you're acting jealous." This was the only thing that L had to say after hearing Mello's full babble.

"You're not getting it." Mello nearly groaned at the air of levity by which L was treating his frustration.

"You're right, I am not," L replied flatly.

"It's not me that he thinks he likes," Mello tried to explain. "He likes the two dimensional words that I say on an online chatroom and the mysterious mask and leather jacket that I wore when we kissed for no reason. The person he's apparently in love with doesn't exist."

"Every aspect that he seems to be fixated on didn't come from anyone else," L argued. "Your actions may not be different from ones that you would take had he seen your face and known your name, but it isn't as if another person did them. What he is drawn to may not be traits that you associate with yourself, but that doesn't change the fact that he is drawn to you nor does it make that corner of your personality nonexistent."

"You're giving me a headache," Mello complained. "Tell me again why I came to you for advice?"

"Because you value my opinion and have no other friends," L answered truthfully.

"Thanks," Mello muttered.

"You should tell him," L stated.

"And sound like some crazy stalker," Mello responded. "No thank you."

"Considering he's trying to hunt you down, I don't think that you're at risk in that area," L pointed out.

"Maybe," Mello gave him that one. "But I'm not sure I want him to know."

"Because you don't want to be the person that he thinks you are?" L wondered.

"No," Mello tried to get his thoughts and motives in order. "Well, yes, but that's not the reason."

"Then what is?"

"I like him," Mello admitted this both to L and to himself. "A lot. But if I tell him who I am he's only going to keep liking the mystery boy, not me."

"So you're going to try to win him over before you tell him the truth," L concluded.

"I think so," Mello wasn't entirely certain his plan would work. "What do you think?"

"I think that people do strange things when they're in love," L said in his usual monotone.

"Are you speaking for experience?" Mello teased.

"Maybe."

"What," he hadn't expected that response. "Are you saying that you found a guy?"

"Not telling."

"Shit," Mello wasn't sure if he should be happy or worried for his brother.

"Language," L scolded.

"Don't care," Mello retorted childishly. "You just heard the story of my entire love life, it's not fair for you not to tell me yours."

"Mello, you learned a long time ago that life is not fare," L told him.

Mello was about to complain of the use of that phrase, when the door to L's room opened.

"Sorry to interrupt your talk, but I need the room too," Light Yagami said this in English, but Mello wasn't sure if it was for his benefit or if the two usually spoke both languages when alone. "If I don't start studying now I'm not going to get any sleep tonight."

"Sleep is overrated, Light-kun." L informed his roommate, proving Mello's theory of the use of their use of both Japanese and English. "But Mello and I were about done with this conversation."

"Light, does L have a boyfriend?" Mello asked before L could hang up on him.

Light had been currently emptying the of contents of his school bag on to his desk in preparation for his study session, but he stopped what he was doing upon hearing the question.

"Does he?" Light raised an eyebrow and gave L a look that Mello couldn't read.

"It's possible," L told them coolly. "And the poor fool who thinks that putting up with my problems and social skills will be a walk in the park deserves both of your pity."

"Maybe he knows that it won't be easy but thinks you're worth the challenge," Light suggested.

"You know who it is," Mello deduced.

"I might," Light smirked. "But L's love life is none of my business."

"That's not exactly true," L commented. "I'd say that, as my roommate and best friend, my love life is about as much your business as it is Mello's."

"Very funny," Mello said dryly.

"I'm only taking a precaution," L said. "Considering you did nothing to stop Beyond from nearly stabbing my last boyfriend, I'm not sure I want to give you too much information about my current one for the moment."

"He did what?" Light looked shocked.

"In Beyond's and my own defense," Mello spoke up. "B only tried to kill him because he cheated on you."

"And, as warmed as my heart is to know that the two of you care, I'm still not telling you right now," L smiled as he said this. "Goodbye Mello. Good luck with your plan."

"Yeah," Mello muttered even though L had finished the call. "I'm going to need luck."

* * *

 **So...who's mad at Mels and who agrees with him? And how obvious did I make L's secret boyfriend?**

 **Thanks to Bummer, Ern Estine 13624, Corliss Kat, brightnight003, Carottal, Anonsass, and Carley-Carley-Carley for reviewing!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Saturday, November 29_

"What did I tell you, modern horror movies are awful," Mihael declared at they exited the movie theatre.

"You were the one who wanted to see that one!" Mail exclaimed. "I was perfectly fine with seeing a comedy or that kid's movie."

"I wanted to see how bad this was," Mihael shrugged.

"This is why you're paying for your ticket," Mail informed him.

"Really? I thought it was because you we too cheep to offer," Mihael teased.

"If we had seen the movie I wanted to see, then maybe I might have," Mail told him.

"No," Mihael smirked. "You still wouldn't."

"Yeah, probably," Mail admitted with a shrug. "But I was only ungrounded today, so it's not like I have any money."

"That's exactly why you should be paying," Mihael told him.

"Because I don't have any money?" Mail asked.

"No," Mihael laughed. "Because we're celebrating your ungroundedness."

"That's not a word," Mail informed his friend.

"If Shakespeare could make up words then so can I," Mihael declared.

"I'm not sure that you're on the same level as the world's most famous playwright," Mail muttered.

"Oh, I am," Mihael smirked. "You just don't know we well enough yet to realize it."

Mail nearly froze when he felt a subtle blush dawn his cheek (and not just because he realized that he was a walking oxymoron). He covered his expression by laughing and rolling his eyes. Mihael hopefully hadn't noticed.

"How about I'll pay for lunch then," Mail suggested, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Were you lying when you just said you don't have any money?" Mihael placed a hand on his hip in a manner that would have looked feminine on anyone else. Wether he was aware of it or not, Mihael had a way of making these sort of gestures attractive.

 _No_ , Mail mentally scolded himself. _I'm not thinking that._

"I have money," Mail corrected himself. "A very, very small amount of money."

Mihael considered this for a moment.

"Sure, you can buy lunch," he decided in a chipper voice that Mail seldom hear from him.

"I just said I have a very, very small amount of money," Mail exclaimed.

"You're the one who offered," Mihael reminded him.

"Fine," Mail grudgingly agreed.

* * *

"I'm going to fail chemistry," Mail announced.

Having run out of not school related conversations, the two has found themselves discussing grades and complaining about their teachers.

"I mean, it's my fault," Mail elaborated. "I don't really study."

"We might be polar opposites," Mihael concluded. "If I have a test I'll study until my eyes bleed."

"I didn't pin you as a nerd," Mail couldn't help saying.

"I'm competitive," Mihael explained. "I took chem last year, if you need a tutor or any help studying."

Every single inappropriate and tutor related fantasy that Mail had ever (briefly) indulged in flashed through his mind.

"No, that's alright," he quickly stated, fearing that his thoughts could some how be read on his face.

 _What is wrong with me?_ He mentally asked himself.

"Suit yourself," Mihael shrugged. A second passed before a sly smile formed on the blonde's face. "But I'm a really good teacher."

 _Are you doing that on purpose?_ Mail almost asked out loud, but thankfully caught himself. He didn't know Mihael well enough to be able to tell if this was his personality or if he was actually flirting with him. Mail tried to convince himself that the former was true, after all he had told Mihael that he was practically dating someone. Well, once he actually found Mello they would be practically dating.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Mihael's voice broke through Mail's thoughts.

"No, sorry," he stammered. "I zoned out, didn't realize I was staring."

"Where you thinking about your internet boyfriend?" Mihael inquired, his gaze dropping to his nails.

"Yeah." This was partially true.

"You don't even know what he looks like, do you?" Mihael's voice was harsher than it had been before, but Mail wasn't sure what he had done to irritate him.

"I kind of know what he looks like," Mail voiced.

"Yeah, but you haven't seen his face before, have you?"

"No," Mail was beginning to feel annoyance rise in his chest. "But that doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Everyone says that looks don't matter, but no one actually means it," Mihael said dismissively.

"Why are you so on my case all or the sudden?" Mail demanded.

"I'm not."

"Yes you are," Mail stood up from his seat as he spoke. He pulled out a fist full or dollars, that seemed about the right amount to pay for the lunch they had just eaten, and dropped it on the table. "And I'm not in the mood to be judged right now."

"Mail, wait," he heard Mihael called after him as he walked out of the restaurant.

"I said I'm not in the mood," he muttered, not caring that his friend couldn't hear him.

* * *

Having nothing else to do once he arrived home, Mail found himself messaging Mello. He wasn't very surprised when Mello replied less than two minutes after his initial: _hey!_

 _Hi, what's up?_

 _I finally got ungrounded!_

The only reason why he hadn't told Mello this the minute after his freedom had been made known to him, was because Mihael had just texted him asking if he wanted to hang out. Usually when he was asked this by classmates, Mail would think up a believable excuse. This time, however, he had decided to take Mihael up on that offer, figuring that he liked talking to the guy and wanted to get out of the house anyway.

"Serves me right for breaking my habit," Mail muttered, thinking of how he had melodramatically stormed out during lunch. In hindsight, he probably could have handled that situation better.

 _Wait, so your friend is no longer reading what I'm saying over your shoulder?_

Mail smirked as he read Mello's question.

 _Nope._

 _Hallelujah._

 _Don't be mean. She's not that prying._ Mail felt the need to defend Linda, even if he did understand Mello's reaction.

 _Sorry. Don't tell her I said that._

 _I probably won't._ Mail couldn't help saying. _No promises._

 _Whatever. How was your day?_

 _Fine._

 _Your first day of freedom is only 'fine'?_

Talking to Mello was inimically improving Mail's mood.

 _I got into an argument with a friend. Kinda over reacted._ Mail didn't mind admitting this to Mello, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to say as much to Mihael. He knew that him abruptly leaving the restaurant was ruder than what Mihael had said.

 _What were you arguing about?_

Mail didn't blame Mello for asking, but he wasn't sure on how he wanted to answer. Of course he wasn't going to tell Mello that he was the topic of that conversation. Would it send the wrong message if he said that they had been arguing over a guy.

 _Something silly._ Mail copped out.

It was at that moment that his phone buzzed with a text from Mihael.

"Are we on the same mental wave length?" Mail wondered out loud as he pulled the device out of his pocket.

 _I'm sorry I insulted your love life._

Mail hesitated before responding. Sarcasm was hard to read via text message, and Mail did not want to spend another conversation yelling at Mihael. Virtual or in person Mihael had a way of making Mail question his stance in an argument, although he did all that he could to hide this.

 _It's ok._ He finally replied with.

 _Are we cool?_

Mail didn't have to stop to think before responding with: _Yeah._

Maybe he was still a little bit miffed at Mihael's comment, but he knew that Mihael had a right to be annoyed as well. At this point Mail preferred both of them dropping the matter than harboring a two sided grudge.

 _Sorry I stormed out on you._

 _That's fine._

 _Does that tutoring offer still stand?_ Mail chanced asking.

 _Of course. I might as well use my "nerdiness" for the greater good. BTW, you over paid earlier._

 _Oh._ Mail considered this. _Are you gonna give me my money back?_

 _Nope._

 _Okay._

He couldn't help but laugh at this, as he tried to think up a witty response. Mail soon became so wrapped up in the conversation that he didn't notice that, since Mihael started texting him, he hadn't received a single message from Mello.

* * *

 **I meant to update** **yesterday but then school, NaNoWriMo, and rehearsals all came together to murder my spare time.**

 **Bummer, I haven't really given L's ex much thought. This is mainly because I can't really see anyone in the show dating and cheating on him, and have been trying to stay from putting OCs in this fic. If I change my mind I might incorporate it, but I've also been trying to stop L and Light from stealing too much of the lime light (pun intended) since it's Mattie and Mel's story.**

 **brightnight003, I'm not sure if Near is struggling with his sexuality in this f** **ic or not. Usually I consider Near as asexual, but I think here he's to young to tell or really care. L and B have an odd relationship, and right now they're using Mello as a go-between instead of actually talking. That will probably change later, though.**

 **Thanks also to alishawow01, Corliss Kat, Carottal, and Anonsass for reviewing!**


	11. Chapter 11

_Tuesday, December 23rd_

"L's bring his boyfriend," Near informed Mello in his usual monotone.

It was the second official day of winter break, the first being the Monday before. They were currently eating breakfast, and waiting for Wammy to pick up L from the airport. B had been unable to attend this holiday. His excuse had been that he was too busy studying, Mello heard the unspoken subtext of this fact. Beyond wasn't the type to waist two weeks off reading, so he must be trying to obtain shining grades in a last attempt to not be expelled from his university. It was probably for the better that they wouldn't have L and B home that the same time anyway.

"He told you this?" Mello eyed his brother skeptically. Slightly jealous that Near had been given more information that himself.

Near nodded.

"And I'm guessing you know who his mysterious boyfriend is as well," Mello phrased the question as a statement.

"Well he didn't tell me that part," Near started. "But it was easy enough to conclude."

"Oh," Mello's voice hit a distasteful note.

"So you don't know who it is." Near's face took on a slight smile, that Mello would never admit had the capability to give him nightmares for a week.

"You don't either," Mello told him. "You have an idea, but no conformation, and for all you know L's trying to make you think the wrong thing."

Near shrugged, obviously not convinced, but dropped the subject. Mello agreed with his brother's silent reasoning that they would postpone the conversation until L arrived with or without a guest. This wait did not end up lasting very long, and in a few minutes L was walking through the front door with Light Yagami trailing behind (in a slightly awkward air).

"Told you," Near said dryly to Mello.

"He's your mysterious boyfriend?" Mello's tone was borderline demanding.

"Hello to you too," L said.

"Hello L," Near look up from his breakfast in a disinterested manner.

"Stop being so neutral," Mello instructed him, then directed his attention back to L. "Why didn't you tell me your were bringing him?"

"It was a last minute decision," L shrugged Mello off. "I told Near to tell you."

"You didn't tell Near, or me, that you're dating your roommate," Mello saltily added.

"True," L considered this, then turned his attention so that he was now addressing both Near and Mello. "I'm dating me roommate. Now I am going to put our bags in our room. Is that a thorough enough update on my life for you?"

"You're annoying," Mello told him.

"I have jet lag," L used as an excuse.

L now walked past Mello and into the living room. Mello followed, wanting to bicker a little more before L and his new boy toy retreated into L's room.

"You don't sleep anyway," Mello said. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Showing is better than telling," L answered back.

"And that makes me sound like an object," Yagami muttered.

"If I told you I was dating my roommate, would you have believed me in first place?" L asked Mello.

"Maybe," Mello considered this. "I mean you to did seem a litte flirtatious when I was Skyping you, but I thought that was just his personality."

"I saw it coming," Near announced, he had apparently abandoned his food to follow them into the room.

"That was Light's fault," L decided.

"By the way," Mello said to L. "I think B might have gone in your room when he visited a couple months ago."

"We decided not to enter after that," Near put in. "Incase the traps are anything like the last ones he put up. Remember the time when you an Mello went camping and B and I stayed home?"

L's neutral expression dropped to one of utmost seriousness. He sighed and dropped the suitcase he had been carrying.

"Light, stay here," he instructed his boyfriend. "If I'm not back in twenty minutes send Mello after me."

"Why me?" Mello joking whined.

"You're complaining? I thought you'd be happy that I view you as the most likely to survive B's torture traps," L mused.

Mello considered this.

"I'm flattered, but not even I have that high of an opinion of myself," he told his brother with a smirk.

"Very well," L shrugged. "If I don't come back begin the funeral arrangements."

"Are you kidding?" Light Yagami seemed truly uncertain.

"Not in the slightest," L informed him. "Make sure to serve cake at my reception. Near's in charge of the eulogy."

With that L exited the room.

"I'll check on him after fifteen minutes," Mello decided.

"If you want the rubber gloves, they're in my room," Near offered.

"I think I'll just go with the umbrella," Mello decided.

"That's also in my room," Near stated.

"You stole my umbrella?" Mello shot him a loathing glare.

"I thought it was going to rain yesterday," Near shrugged taking a seat on the couch.

"Maybe you guys are as crazy as he made you out to be," Light sounded like he was talking more to himself than to Near or Mello.

"We are," Mello answered anyway. "Now sit down, we're going to threaten you."

"What?"

"Well, B's not here to do it, and you need to know the price of messing with our brother." Mello sat down with crossed arms next to Near.

"I'm not messing with him—" Light tried to say, but Near cut him off.

"Keep in mind that everything you say can and will be used against you," the albino informed him.

"Am I in court now?" Light asked with a hint of exasperation.

"No, we don't give you any rights," Mello said with a wide smirk.

"Fine," Light sat down. "You're going to tell me that if I ever hurt him my dead body will never be found."

"No, we'd use it as an example for the next one," Mello corrected. "But you're on the right track."

"Look," Light's voice was slightly patronizing and Mello hated that. "It's great that you two want to watch out for him, but you don't have to worry."

"Sure."

"I'm being serious," Light went on. "I care about him more than I've cared about any one I've been with before. I don't intend to leave him, and even if I did I would do everything I could not to hurt him in the process."

Light then launched into a lengthy speech detailing his feels and intentions. Honestly Mello had only meant to put him on edge a little, but his efforts to scare L's boyfriend were rewarded with an excerpt from a young adult romance novel.

"Okay, we get it," Mello interrupted with an irritated tone. "We won't kill you for now."

He took this opportunity to leave the room.

* * *

Mello was sitting on his bed and attempting to convince himself that he wasn't jealous that L had brought his boyfriend to spend the holidays with them. Despite his initial vexation , he hadn't had a problem with this. Yes, Light was an odd pick, but Mello was glad that L had found someone especially after the incident with his last boyfriend. Mello hadn't once compared L's love life to his own, and didn't see the point in him envying his older brother. His crush on Mail was a completely different situation, and he wasn't jealous of what Light and L had. That is, he hadn't been jealous until Light had started talking about his stupid, mushy feelings.

The first thing that Mello had felt while listening to Light's monologue was a wave of nausea, because, as a younger sibling, part of his job was to be grossed out at anything involving his older brother and love. The next thing he felt was relief that Light did in fact care about L that deeply and it was unlikely that he would do anything to purposely hurt L. Then Mello's green-eyed monster took charge. The more Light talked about how much he thought that he and L understood each other, the more Mello thought about how he and Mail understood each other; and the more that Light talked about how he was in love with L, the more Mello thought about how Mail wasn't in love with him. Why would Mail never think of him like this? Because he was fixated on an online stranger wearing a mask and a leather jacket that he couldn't put together was actually Mello.

Mello's brooding thought's were interrupted when his phone rang. Glancing to where the device sat next to him, he sighed. Of course Mail had to call him while he was in the middle of a pining session. Taking a second to slip into his 'I'm not in love with you' act, Mello answered the phone.

"Hi, what's up?" He asked neutrally.

"Mihael?" Mail choked out on the other end of the line.

"What's wrong?" Mello's irritation had evaporated. "Are you alright?"

"No," Mail let out a sound that seemed combination between a laugh and a sob.

"What happened?" Mello's concern shaped into a demanding form.

"My parents took my lap top," Mail stammered through what Mello assumed were tears. "Found out about Mello…Dad started yelling, so I ran out of the house."

"Where are you now?" Mello needed to know.

"At a bus stop three blocks from my house," Mail answered. "I don't have any money for when the bus comes. Not that I know where to go anyway. What do I do?"

"Just stay there," Mello told him. "I'll come pick you up."

"Thank you," Mail's voice was still shaking.

"I'm going to hang up now, but I'll call you back when I'm on my way, okay?"

"Okay," Mail whispered before Mello ended the call.

He was on his feet in seconds and running to the nearest person who knew how to drive a car. When Mello bolted into the living room the only people there were Light and Near. Light was reading a book written in Japanese and Near was building the worlds biggest card house (which Mello doubted would last ten minutes upon completion).

"Have you seen L?" He asked both of them.

"He and Wammy went to the grocery store," Light didn't look up from his reading as he answered. "They should be back in fifteen minutes."

Mello couldn't wait fifteen minutes, he needed to be at Mail's bus stop that very second.

"Light you have a license, right?" Mello asked. The only silverzlining to this situation was that they family owned two cars.

"Not in this country."

"Yeah, but you can drive a car?" Mello didn't care about legality anymore, he just needed to get to Mail before he decided to walk back to his messed up family.

"No," Light closed his book and gave Mello a stern glare. "I'm not driving you anywhere."

"Come on," Mello could hardly believe he was pleading with this person. "You won't get pulled over as long as you drive carefully."

"Can't you just wait fifteen minutes for L to drive you?" Light suggested.

"It can't wait," Mello peremptorily said through gritted teeth.

He stopped himself before expressing his frustration any further, anger wasn't the right approach when he was asking for help.

"Look," Mello started in a more controlled tone. "My best friend is stranded at a bus stop, because his homophobic parents found out about his online boyfriend and yelled at him until he ran out of his house. He's freaking out, I need to pick him up now."

Mello took the conflicted look on Light's face as a good sign.

"Please?" he added with less reluctance than was usually attached to him saying the word.

"Fine," Light rose from his chair. "Just this once, and only because he's in that much trouble."

"You're my favorite of L's boyfriends," Mello told him as the swiftly walked to the car.

"Like I wasn't already," Light muttered. "Just don't tell on me."

"I won't," Mello promised. "Near might, though."

"I'll worry about that later," Light dismissed as he started the car. "You have to give me directions."

"Turn right at the end of the road," Mello started.

He pulled out his cellphone, remembering that he had told Mail he would call him back when he was on his way. Before dialing the number, a thought occurred to him.

"Can you not use my nickname in front of my friend?" Mello asked Light.

"Okay, why?"

"It's a family thing," Mello wasn't technically lying. "People outside of the family don't know about it."

"So you want me to call you Mihael?" Light clarified.

"When Mail's around," Mello answered. "Just pretend that's what you normally call me."

"If it's such a secret why did L always refer to you by your nickname?"

 _He knows something's up_ , Mello thought bitterly. He didn't have time to explain the situation to Light, and frankly didn't want anyone else to know. Not long ago he had confided to L, but he knew that L could keep the secret and wouldn't judge the situation.

"I guess he really likes you," Mello answered, keeping tension from his voice.

"He does." Light didn't push the subject, but Mello was fairly sure that he wasn't letting it go. Still, at the moment that didn't matter.

Mello hastily dialed Mail's number, pressing the phone to his ear while stilling keeping his eyes on the road to better direct Light. It took seconds for Mail to answer.

"Hey," Mail said on the other line. To Mello's relief he sounded calmer than he had when he first called.

"We're on our way," Mello told him. "Should be there in a few minutes."

"Okay."

"Do you want to talk more about what happened?" Mello asked hesitantly, not sure what else to say.

"No," Mail answered.

"Okay, I understand."

"I mean, not right now," Mail quickly corrected himself. "Maybe when you get here."

Mello tried to tell himself that he was hallucinating the flicker of hope that he heard in his friend's voice.

"Alright," he said to him.

"Alright." Mello silently prayed that Mail was smiling as he said this.

It didn't take much longer for Mello and Light to arrive at the bus stop Mail was stranded at. Mello jumped from the car the moment that it stopped, deciding that he didn't care if L's boyfriend was witnessing his jumpiness. He could tell immediately that Mail had spent the past few minutes sobbing, but thought it was better to pretend he didn't notice he boy's red-eyed appearance. Without thinking about it, he pulled Mail into a tight hug.

"Thanks for coming," Mail whispered.

"No problem," Mello replied. "Are you okay?"

"No."

"Sorry, stupid question," Mello mentally hit himself.

"Yeah," Mail chuckled.

"Come on," Mello broke the embrace and gestured toward the car. "I told the chauffeur that we'd be home before he gets arrested."

"I heard that," Light called.

"You were supposed to," Mello informed him.

* * *

Thankfully they made it back to the house before L and Watari, escaping the 'why was Light driving' conversation. Light went back to the book he had been reading before Mello had needed his help, while Mello sat on the couch with Mail, simultaneously thinking up a believable reason to why and how Mail was at their house and trying to distract Mail from everything that had just happened.

"How many meters are in a kilometer?" Mello asked.

"You're quizzing me now?" Mail's expression was a cross from exasperation and confusion.

"How many meters are in a kilometer?" Mello repeated.

"One thousand," Mail answered after a slight hesitation.

"Good," Mello searched his rather sharp memory of chemistry to think up the next piece of trivia. "Boiling point of water?"

"On hundred degrees Celsius," Mail stated.

"In Kelvin?"

"I don't even remember what that is," Mail exclaimed.

"It's 373.15," Mello had to add.

"Again, don't know what it is," Mail told him with a wan, but genuine, smile.

"You're going to fail Chemistry," Mello told him.

"Yeah, I am," Mail shrugged. "But next time you want to distract me, can you think of something less academic?"

"No," Mello replied. "How many decimeters in a meter?"

"I don't know," Mail rolled his eyes.

"Ten," Mello answered.

"You're such a nerd."

"I know."

"I'm still probably going to fail," Mail informed him.

"At least your tried," Mello shrugged.

"Yeah," Mail sighed.

Mello watched as his friend's gaze begin to cloud with the unpleasant thoughts that Mello had been trying keep him away from.

"We have a guest room," Mello heard himself blurt.

"What?"

"If you don't want to go back home tonight," Mello attempted to clarify. "You could stay the whole holiday, if you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Mello shrugged in an attempt to make the matter seem casual.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem," Mello said for the second time that day.

"No, really." The look on Mail's face displayed how completely open he felt, and Mello could only smile and hope that was the appropriate reaction. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

Friend. Until he had met Mail, Mello hadn't realized that it was possible to both love and loath a word.

"Better than Linda?" He asked to lighten the mood.

"Better than Linda." Mail couldn't help adding: "Just don't tell her I said that."

"My lips are sealed," he said with a wink.

 _They're sealed about everything._

* * *

 **Thank you to Bummer, Ern Estine 13624, Guest (who turned out to be Corliss Kat), Carottal, and Guest for reviewing!**

 **Guest (who is not** **Corliss Kat), I don't speak any other languages, but I'm learning Latin in school and know a few phrases in Japanese because I watch too much Anime subbed. I know a few greetings and insults in Elvish. Thank you for thinking I am interesting!**


	12. Chapter 12

_Wednesday, December 24th_

Mail hadn't expected to sleep well. This wasn't because he wasn't comfortable in Mihael's house, Mail was still shocked that Mihael's family had told him to stay the night and longer if he wanted to. As he laid back in the bed in Mihael's guest room, he tried not to worry about what he would do the next day. He didn't have any of his things with him, but he could still stay a few days with Mihael if he wanted to. Mail wondered what his parents were thinking right now. He hoped that they were worried, but knew that if his mother was she would've called him or tried to stop him from running out of the house.

Right now Mail felt that Mihael was the only one who actually cared about how he felt. Neither of his parents had made any effort to contact or find him all day, no matter how mad they were the fact that he still wasn't home should have bothered them. He was surprised that not even Linda had texted him, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt since she might not know that he wasn't home. The only way that Linda could have found out about his disappearance is if his parents told her, and at the moment he was fairly sure that concern was not the emotion they were felling towards him. This fact was strangely easy not to dwell on.

Each time he came close to being upset that his father and mother were crying over his absence, he remembered that Mihael had literally dropped everything and ran to him when he was in need. No, he hadn't run, he had begged his brother's boyfriend to illegally drive him to the bus stop that Mail was stranded at because he refused to let Mail sit there alone any longer than he had to. Knowing this filled Mail with a warmth that he wasn't used to, but he didn't want it to fade. If it wasn't for Mello, Mail probably would have labeled that warmth as love.

Trying to clear his mind, Mail pulled himself out of bed. If he wasn't going to sleep maybe he could get something to eat or drink instead. He felt a little bad about poking around in Mihael's kitchen, but everyone had told him to make himself at home. With that, Mail left the guest room and stumbled through the dark hallway in the direction of where he remembered the kitchen was. However, once he reached the end of the hall, he noticed a dim light under the door of his destination.

"Hey," Light Yagami greeted him from where he was sitting with a book at the dinning table. "It's 11:30, shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Shouldn't you?" Mail asked, taking a seat across from him.

"Time difference," Light told him. "It's 7:30am in Japan."

"Oh."

"For the first time I have insomnia and L's out like a rock," Light chuckled. "I almost want to wake him up as revenge for the thousands of times he's done that to me."

"You two live together?" Mail asked.

"We were roommates before we started dating," Light explained. "He didn't let me sleep when we were just friends either."

"You're still roommates?" Mail couldn't help asking.

"Yeah," Light answered. "It was a little awkward at first, but our relationship was never normal."

"That's nice." Mail received a quizzical look, and elaborated. "It's nice that you know you guys aren't normal and don't need to be. I mean, if I were in a relationship, I would want that."

"I thought Mihael said something about you having an online boyfriend," Light wondered.

"We're not dating," Mail wasn't sure how to explain him and Mello. Michael must have only mentioned it when he was convincing Light to illegally pick him up from the bus stop. "Actually we don't really know each other."

"Not in real life?"

"We sort of met once." Mail took this opportunity to change the subject. "Can I ask your advice for something?"

"Sure," Light answered without hesitation. "What's up?"

"Have you ever liked two people at once?" Mail could hardly believe that he was admitting this question to himself, much less asking the help of someone that he had only met that day.

"I'm guessing that the two people you're referring to would me Mihael and your online boy," Light reasoned.

"Yeah," Mail hadn't wanted to tell him this much, but he couldn't easily lie to that pointed of a question.

"You just said that you don't even know him, so I don't see your issue here," Light said flatly.

"Never mind," Mail was regretting starting this conversation in the first place, and stood up to leave the room. "Forget I asked."

"Wait," Light rose from his chair to stop Mail from leaving. "That was rude of me. Maybe you could explain the situation a little more."

"Really, it's okay—" Mail tried to tell him.

"No," Light cut him off. "I want to help if I can."

"Okay," Mail sank back into the chair.

"Can you tell me why you like this boy that you haven't met?"

Before Mail could fully register what he was doing, he had explained to Light how he started messaging someone that he had met on a gaming website and had coincidentally met the same person at a Halloween party. How he had been almost certain that it was Mello after hearing the other boy call him by the name, and how talking to Mello later that night had confirmed this. He decided to leave out Mello's name as he told the story, wanting to keep at least one detail to himself.

"Why didn't you tell him who you were when he told you about the party?" Light inquired.

"I didn't want to freak him out," Mail said sheepishly. "Looking back I think that was the only time that I could have told him, but, for some reason, I was convinced that I could find him and tell him in person."

"And you didn't," Light made sure.

"I tried," Mail knew this hardly counted for anything. "Well, I tried hard at first, but recently I've been distracted."

"Because you realized you also like Mihael?"

"Pretty much," Mail sighed. "I don't know why I'm making such a big deal about this. It's not like I have a chance with either of them. One of them I've only met in person once, and probably never will meet again. And even that is more likely than Mihael being interested in me."

"You're saying that after he heroically recused you today?"

"He's a good friend," Mail had to smile a little at Light's question. "But I know he doesn't think of me like that."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because, if he did, he would hate me," Mail honestly felt like hating himself. "Since we met I've been spending half of my time talking about how I'm going to find that boy from Halloween. If Mihael actually liked me I'm sure listening to that nonstop would have driven him insane."

"Maybe you're not giving him enough credit, he could just want you to be happy," Light suggested.

"If L loved someone else would you just want him to be happy or would you feel angry and jealous?" Mail countered.

"Fair point," Light hesitantly agreed. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Mail's gaze traced the table in front for him. "What would you do?"

Light thought for a moment before answering.

"If I were you, I'd figure out what my feelings were before I did anything," he said.

"If that were as easy as you put it I wouldn't be having a problem at all," Mail pointed out.

"I know," Light told him. "But you can't do anything unless you realize which one of them you want to be with. I understand that you are attracted to both of them, but it's unfair to all three of you if you act on either attraction while part of you is still drawn to the other. Also, as Mihael's brother's boyfriend it's sort of my job to kill you if I find out that you're doing that to Mihael."

"Wouldn't it be one of his actual brother's job?"

"Yes, but the murderous one is in America and the other two don't want to stoop to his level," Light didn't miss a beat as he said this.

"Oh," Mail pretended that he understood what Light had just said so that he would continue. "So, what do I do when I figure things out?"

"That part is up to you," Light stated. "But I think that you should be honest with whoever you choose, and I don't think that you should rule out the possibility of either of them having feelings for you."

"Okay," Mail took this in.

"And," Light grinned. "My last piece of advice to you is to go to sleep now and spend tomorrow worrying about everything we just talked about."

"That's also easier said than done," Mail stood up to leave the room none the less. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

 **This is officially the nicest I've ever written Light. Who knew making him a side character who deduct from the arrogance!**

 **Thank you to Lala the Screaming Fangirl, Bummer, brightnight003, Corliss Kat, and Anonsass for reviewing!**


	13. Chapter 13

_Thursday, December 25th_

When Mello was a young, he had been the type of child who would wake up at four in the morning on Christmas day. This was partly from the anticipation of all the presents that he knew he would be receiving, and partly because everything in their house was a competition and he wanted to assure that he was the first awake. (His rank in the contest ended shortly after L reached the age where he decided that sleep was not necessary for him to function, and simply spent the entire night camped out in front of the tree.)

This particular Christmas morning, however, Mello had decided that he was going to sleep in. Well, it was less of a decision and more of the fact that he did not want to drag himself out of his warm and soft bed and into the cold and (surely) chaos-filled living room. His body clock had woken him up at six, but he told himself that he would stay in bed for at least two more hours. Unfortunately this brilliant plan was short lived, when Mello heard a timid nock on his door.

"Mihael?" Mail sheepishly called for the other side. "Your brother told me to tell you to wake up."

"Tell L to tell me himself," Mello shouted back, not moving.

"He said there's no guarantee you won't shoot the messenger if anyone else talked to you," Mail answered back.

Mello sighed dramatically, but was unsure if Mail could hear in through the door.

"You can come it, I'm not naked or anything," Mello told him, thankful that he had chosen to wear pajamas the night before.

Mail hesitantly opened the door.

"Hey," Mello said, pulling himself out of bed.

"Hey," Mail sounded shyer than Mello had ever heard him. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," Mello didn't resist the urge to roll his eyes as he spoke.

"Right, I forgot you're not a holiday person," Mail read the eye roll.

This wasn't entirely true, but Mello didn't understand the fuss that was always made over occasions such and Christmas and Easter. It surprised Mello that Mail remembered this, he had only briefly mentioned it the day that they had talked at the bowling alley.

"I'll pretend to be cheerful if you do," Mello suggested as he pulled a shirt from his closet.

"Or we could be semi-depressed together," Mail offered.

"That's the Christmas spirit," Mello said with mock enthusiasm.

"Hey, since we're alone right now I was wondering if I could talk to you," Mail's voice was laced with sheepishness.

"You are talking," Mello pointed out.

"Yeah, but, that's not what I meant," Mail was stammering now.

"Okay," Mello directed his attention away from finding clothes and to his friend. Obviously this was something that Mail deemed serious (maybe it was about what had happened with his parents the day before) and he could wait to get dressed afterwards. He took at seat at the edge of his bed and gestured for Matt to join him. "Shoot."

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a date with me."

This was not at all what Mello was expected Mail to say. Not in the slightest.

"What?" Mello heard his voice say, although he had no recollection of informing his mouth to speak.

"Not now, I mean," Mail's speech spend to a quicker pace. "It's Christmas and you guys probably have plans. Although I guess I'll be a part of that anyway, since I'm staying over and all. But I meant a date later, maybe in a few days or something."

Mello knew that he was staring, no, _gaping_ at Mail. He knew that if he didn't say something Mail would get the wrong idea. Mello was at a loss for words, but he was innerly jumping for joy at what Mail had just asked him. Well, he would be innerly jumping for joy if he wasn't

in a state of utter shock. Shock that could surely be misinterpreted by the boy sitting next to him. Yes, speaking was definitely a good idea if only Mello could get his voice to work.

"But it's fine if you don't want to," Mail babbled. "I guess this is sort of coming out of the blue, and I'm more than okay with being friends. I mean, we _are_ friends and I don't-"

"Slow down," Mello was able to say.

"Okay." A blush appeared on Mail's cheeks, which Mello couldn't help but think was the single most adorable think he had ever seen.

"What about your online boyfriend?" This was not what Mello had meant to ask. This was not what Mello wanted to be thinking about, but now that the question was out there he needed to know the answer.

"Well," Mail's eyes found the floor. "I guess don't really know him, and who knows if I was ever going to find him."

 _You have without trying_. Mello thought.

"But I like you," Mail was still blushing. "I like talking to you."

"You're asking me out because you like talking to me?" Now that Mello had gotten his voice to work he could not get it to stop. He didn't want to focus on ever negative yet rational flaw in what Mail was saying, but he couldn't help himself from pointing them out.

"No," Mail tried to correct himself. "I'm asking you out because I'm attracted to you _and_ I like to talk to you."

"I'm attracted to you." Mello caught himself and quickly added: "And the talking part. Yeah, that too."

They both laughed.

"How about tomorrow?" Mello said.

"What?"

"We can go on a date tomorrow," he suggested.

"I'd like that," Mail smiled.

"Me too," Mello added, ignoring how incredibly cheesy this sounded.

"So do we hug now or something?" Mail asked sheepishly. "I'm not really sure how this works."

"Now," Mello smirked. "I kick you out of my room so I can change."

"Right," Mail stood up off the bed.

"You're going to have to wait until after the first date before you see me shirtless," Mello added.

"Is that a promise?" Mail teased.

"Nope, now get out."

"Okay."

* * *

"So what is the point of this game?" Mail asked for the third time.

Half of Christmas day had passed, meaning that the family had finished their traditions and were now finding was to entertain themselves. L had taken charge or this task, deciding that they were all going to play the game Murderer.

"The point of the game is to find out who the murder is," Near answered for the third time.

"I got that," Mail said.

"L only want's to play it because he likes to sound like Sherlock Holmes," Mello explained with not small degree to attitude.

"Yes, I am Sherlock Homes," L responded with an expression of complete seriousness. "Are we going to play now."

Mello folded the five pieces of paper that L had set on the table, making sure that the star he had drawn on the murder's card was not visible.

"You'll get the hang of it," he said to Mail, not stopping to add: "Well, they'll probably kill you off first, but after that you'll get the hang of it."

"You know, normal families play monopoly," Mail stated.

"We played that once," Near chimed in. "It was very boring."

"Mihael flipped the board upside down," L added dully.

"You did?" Mail asked.

"In my defense, it was the fastest way to end the game," Mello explained. "Plus if I hadn't B probably would have."

"You guys are so weird," Light remarked.

"You're just noticing this now?" Mail asked. "At least I knew what I was getting myself into."

Mello could feel a smile forming on his lips at that comments.

"I'm assuming that was an inside joke?" L inquired in a monotone.

"Yeah," Mello's grin only widened. "I'll tell you after the game. If you win, that is."

"Deal."

Neither L nor Mello won the first three rounds.

* * *

"You did tell him, did you?" L asked Mello the first moment that the two of them were alone.

"No," Mello admitted, knowing exactly what L was hinting to. "Why should I? Things are fine right now."

"They've only been fine for a few hours," L pointed out.

"How'd you know he asked me out in the first place?" Mello redirected the conversation.

"You're usually not this happy on holidays," L replied thoughtfully. "It's kind of sweet."

"Shut up," Mello rolled his eyes but could not suppress his smile.

"You shouldn't start things out with skeletons in the closet," L advised.

"It's a complicated-"

"I know," L held up a hand to silence him. "And I'm not telling you what you have to do. I just want you to know what I would do if I were in your position."

"You mean that, if this were you relationship and not mine, you would tell Light that you were lying to his face since you first met?" Mello channeled as much attitude as he could into this question.

"Well I did give him a fake name when I first introduced myself," L said thoughtfully.

"Really?" There were times when Mello seriously didn't understand his brother.

"I told him my name was Ruyga Heideki." Mello gave L a questioning look. "That's a Japanese actor. When Light didn't believe me I told him that my real name was Ryusaki. Although, I'm not sure he believed me that time either."

"That's not lying," Mello was now irritated. "That's just you being weird and him playing along."

"Were you lying to Mail?"

"I don't know," Mello thought this over. "I wasn't being honest."

"Why?" L already knew the answer to this.

"Because I like him," Mello said anyway. "And I wanted him to like me for me."

"Okay," L smiled. "I think he'd understand that."

"Maybe," Mello sighed. "I might tell him. Just stop badgering me about it, okay?"

"Fine," L replied neutrally, but couldn't stop himself from adding: " But I wouldn't call it badgering exactly."

"I would," Mello informed him. "Although I know you mean well."

"I always mean well," L muttered.

"Whatever," Mello laughed.

* * *

"Mail, can I talk to you?"

It took less than five minutes for Mello to take L's advise. He knew he was going to have to tell Mail at some point, and it would be better to get the conversation over with.

"Sure," Mail's tone was as happy-go-lucky as Mello had ever hear it.

 _Please let it stay that way_ , he silently prayed as he led the way to his room.

"Is something wrong?" Mail asked after Mello shut the door behind them. "You seem anxious."

"Nothing's wrong, exactly," Mello had no idea how to Segway into his confession. "I just need to tell you something."

"Something bad?"

"Bad isn't the right word, but it's not something good." Mello knew that he could spend at least two minutes dancing around the subject, but that would only heighten his anticipation for Mail's reaction.

"You're killing me with suspense," Mail remarked.

"Sorry," Mello laughed nervously. "I'm stalling."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"I know," Mello took a breath. "Just promise that you won't freak out, okay?"

"That's a little unfair since I don't know what I'd be freaking out about," Mail pointed out. "But, alright. I promise I won't freak out. Now tell me what's bugging you."

"I'm your Cinderella guy," blurted Mello.

 _Of all the ways you could have said that why the fuck did you choose those words?_ Mello mentally face palmed.

"What?" Mail looked more shocked than confused. It was as if he didn't want to believe what he was hearing.

 _Fuck_. Mello had to admit that he was beginning to regret his decision to be honest. _To late to turn back now._

"I'm the boy from Halloween, the one you've been messaging," he continued. "I'm Mello."

* * *

 **One. I understand that most of you will want to murder me after that chapter ending (just know that a shinigami is in love with me and ready to kill you the moment that you try).**

 **Two. I know, I know, it's November and Christmas is over a month away (but if department stores can sell santa hats right now then I can set my chapter on December 25th).**

 **Three.** **Thank you to brightnight003, Lala the Screaming Fangirl, Carley-Carley-Carley, Ern Estine 13624, alishawow01, Anonsass, Corliss Kat, and Lunacat247 for your reviews!**


	14. Chapter 14

_Thursday, December 25th_

"I'm Mello."

Mail had once been told that the human brain is not advanced enough to process multiple complexed thoughts at the same time. This is why we are such bad multitaskers, and why Mail was not aloud to play video games during class. Mail had always thought that this statement was incorrect, but he had never been in a circumstance that offered him the opportunity to disprove it. Well, he hadn't until now.

If Mail were to count every since thought crossing through his brain or every single emotion he was feeling, he was sure that the number would pass one million. Alright, maybe that was a bit of an over-exaggeration, but that was how upset that he felt. No, 'upset' was not the right word. Confuse? Angry? Flabbergasted? And maybe even the very slightest bit glad? Was he relieved that all this time he had been in love with one person, with the same person? The person who had spent the last few months deceiving him.

Mihael was Mello.

"What the fuck?"

Mail wasn't the type to swear. Sure he over used the words "crap" and "hell," but he rarely said anything more vulgar than that. This wasn't because he frowned upon the use of strong language, which he did not. The reason that Mail rarely swore was because he rarely had the opportunity to. For Mail, anger was something that collected inside him slowly. He rarely had a sharp flash of emotion that insight taboo vocabulary. This was definitely the right occasion.

"I know," Mihael—no, Mello—stammered. "I should have told you, but I didn't want you to think that I was a stalker."

"Are you a stalker?" Mail doubted this, but the question was justified.

"No, of course not," Mello insisted.

"Then that's a stupid excuse," Mail stated.

"I know," Mihael looked defeated but Mail refused to feel sorry for him.

"If anyone's a stalker it's me," Mail continued, bitterly adding: "I guess I'm a lot better at it than I thought."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't," Mail harshly cut Mihael off. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was going to, but then you started talking about how you were going to find 'Mello' and I didn't-"

"Wait," Mail interrupted again. "You knew who I was before I told you about my plan?"

"I figured it out after we talked in the hall before lunch," Mihael's eyes met the ground.

Mail didn't know if he should laugh or cry, but he had a feeling that he would soon be doing both.

"Was this some sort of game to you?" Anger bled through his words.

"No, it wasn't like that," Mihael said quickly.

"Then what was it like?" Mail could hear himself shouting, but he didn't care.

"I wasn't a game, I just wanted you to like me for who I am not because I wore a jacket and a mask or because I said something funny online." Mihael attempted to clarify.

"That _is_ a game," Mail dismissed. "And now that I gave up on Mello and asked you out, you've won. That's the only reason that you're telling me isn't it?"

"No, I..." Mihael seemed to search his mind for something to say in his defense. Upon finding nothing he simply stated: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Well you did," Mail said bitterly. He could feel the tears coming, but tried his hardest to will them away. Mihael had seen him cry enough already.

"Can you really blame me?" Mihael snapped, finally meeting Mail's eyes. "It's not like you told 'Mello' who you were when you had the chance!"

"That's only because it's not something that you can say online," Mail defended himself. "You would have thought that I was crazy and stopped talking to me."

"You said yourself that you didn't feel like you really knew Mello," Mihael rushed to his next defense. "Can you honestly blame me for wanting you to know the real me before telling you who I was?"

"When it involves lying to me, yes I do blame you!" Mail nearly screamed this. He was sure that the other members of the house could at least hear part of the shouting, even if they were all still in the living room.

"What do you want me to say?" Mihael's tone was defiant, but Mail could tell that he genuinely wanted to know the answer to this question.

"I don't know," Mail sighed in frustration. He needed to clear his head. He needed to get as far away from Mihael as possible. "I'm going for a walk."

If Mihael was going to say anything in response, Mail did not wait around to hear it. He tried not to make eye contact with anyone as he stormed out of the house, but he could feels the attention on him as the nearly ran through Mihael's living room.

"What do you think was that about?" he heard Light ask. The question was probably directed at L, when they assumed Mail was out of earshot.

It was only once he was out the door that Mail let the tears fall from his eyes. He didn't let the fact that he was crying slow him down. He continued to walk at a brisk pace, although he had not idea where he was going. Not that he usually did when he ran away from an uncomfortable situation. The only thing that made this different from the so many other times he walked away from a place that he once felt safe in tears was the fact that he was leaving Mihael's house and not his own, and the fact that for once he was the one feeling disappointed (not the one who had been disappointed).

He was a block away when he fished his cell phone out of the pair of jeans he had been wearing for the past two days (after denying Mihael's offer to borrow his clothes). Mail needed to process what had just happened out loud, and this only worked when he was speaking to someone else. Usually he would have called Mihael or messaged Mello, but this was impossible, since the two were not only one and the same but the cause of his problem. There was only one other person he could talk to.

Linda picked up on the first ring.

"Hey," he tried his best to keep his voice calm.

"Where the hell are you?" She demanded. "Your mom said that you've been missing since yesterday. I've been worried sick!"

 _Yet you still didn't try to call me._ Mail stopped himself from adding the bitter remark. He didn't have the energy to be angry at both Mihael and Linda.

"They didn't call the police or anything, did they?" Mail needed to make sure.

"No," she answered. "Your mom said something about you needing time to think through your actions. What did you do this time?"

"Nothing I should be punished for," he muttered.

"Where are you?" she asked again.

"I"m headed in the direction of the mall," he told here. "Can you meet me at Denny's?"

"Okay," she sighed. "But I better be getting an explanation."

"You will," he assured her. "Bring money."

"You're so cheep," she muttered.

"See you in a bit," he replied.

* * *

"You're kidding me, right?" Linda exclaimed very, very loudly.

Mail resisted the urge to glance around the restaurant and gage the amount of people staring at them.

"Do I look like I'm kidding you?" he asked dryly.

"I dunno, you have a good poker face," she shrugged.

"No, I don't," he argued.

"Well you're good at poker," she decided.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes. "Can we get back to my life being over?"

"Of course," she pressed her lips together in a pained smile. "What are you going to do?"

"No fucking clue," he groaned.

"And the issue is bad enough it had brought innocent little Mail to swearing," she remarked.

"Yes," he looked at her seriously. "It is."

"I get that you're mad," she started.

"Infuriated," he corrected.

"I get that you're 'infuriated'," she corrected. "But it's kind of a romantic, isn't it?"

"Please don't use that word against me."

"I'm not trying to defend him, but you can sort of see his side of things," she continued.

"He's been lying to me for months," Mail exclaimed in exasperation.

"Okay," Linda looked equally frustrated. "So he's a terrible person and you can spend the rest of your life hating him."

"Don't make me the bad guy!"

"Well, that's what you're saying," she crossed her arms as she spoke.

"Fine," Mail gave up arguing with her. "How do you see his side?"

"He really likes you, right?"

"I guess," Mail shrugged, but she ignored him.

"He likes you enough to listen to you raving about your online crush," she continued.

"Which turned out to be him," he tried to interject.

"Enough to try to teach you Chemistry," she added.

Mail regretted telling her that part.

"Enough to make someone without a license drive to where you we stranded, because you were crying and didn't know what to do."

"I get it," Mail had to interrupt. "He's probably in love with me. I understand that!"

"Enough to lie to you because he wanted the person that you loved back to be real," she finished.

"You're making him sound like a martyr," Mail muttered.

"You only say that because you see my point," she beamed.

"Yeah," he sighed. "This doesn't mean that I forgive him. He stilled lied more for himself than he did for me."

Linda's face contorted into a pout.

"But I will listen to what he wants to say about it," he admitted.

"Good."

"When I called you it wasn't for advise, you know," he informed her.

"Yeah," she grinned. "But I want to help. You deserve to be happy, and I think he might too."

"You're probably right about that," he smiled back.

"Now go call him," she stood up from the booth. "I'll give you time to think about what you want to say."

"Thanks."

"By the way," she whirled around as is a thought had just occurred to her. "Happy Christmas."

"You too."

* * *

 **The end is near...pun intended.**

 **Thank you to Lala the Screaming Fangirl, Electronic Ink 0, Carley-Carley-Carley, Ern Estine 13624, Anonsass, Corliss Kat, and Bummer.**


	15. Chapter 15

_Thursday, December 25th_

"Shit, shit, _shit_."

Mello was pacing around the living room like a mad man.

"Are you going to tell us what is upsetting you, or do we have to figure it out on our own?" Light dryly questioned.

"Ask L," Mello snapped, glaring at the both of them.

He wasn't sure if it was the fact that he had taken L's advise and told Mail everything that was channeling his anger in the direction or his brother, or the fact that he was still a little jealous of L's 'happy relationship.' Either way, L's calm expression was only adding to his frustration.

"Give him time to cool down," L instructed.

"That's what I'm doing," he venomously retorted.

"Maybe you should cool down as well," L muttered.

"Shut up," Mello yelled.

"Mello—"

"I just ruined everything, and would greatly appreciate it if you didn't make commentary," he cut him off.

"Fine."

Mello was about to shout something else (he wasn't sure what but he would figure it out once he started talking), when his thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. He ignored the 'I told you so' look that L was giving him as he fished the device out of his pocket. As he thought, it was Mail calling him.

"Hi," he kept the greeting simple, afraid that he would say something to offended the other boy.

"I'm ready to talk," Mail stated.

"Okay," Mello stopped himself from breathing a sigh of relief. "Where are you?"

"Meet me at Denny's," he didn't phrase this as a question. "The one near your house."

"Okay," Mello said again.

Mail hung up.

"I need ride," Mello said as he shut his cellphone.

"I can drive you," L stood up. "Since I have a license in this country."

"You said you wouldn't tell him," Light glared at Mello.

"I didn't." Were he not shaking with nerves at the prospect of talking to Mail, Mello might have laughed at this.

"I know everything," L informed his boyfriend.

"You'll get used to it," Mello added.

* * *

"You can just drop me off here," Mello said to L as they pulled up in front of the restaurant.

"Are you going to be alright?" L asked.

"Yeah," Mello shrugged. "I dug my grave, didn't I?"

"I suppose you did." L had never been the best at pep talks.

"I'll call you if I need a ride back," Mello told him, opening his car door.

"I'm only driving back if things don't go well," L replied. "If not, you and your boyfriend are walking back together."

"Thanks?" Mello wasn't sure how else to respond.

"You're welcome."

With that L drove away.

"Weirdo," Mello mutter with the hint of a smile.

He took a breath before entering the restaurant. Finding Mail's table was easy, it took him seconds to spot the redhead. Mail looked up as he approached, and Mello was glad to find that the boy's brow was no longer tight with anger. Mello's eyes trailed over the two half eaten meals on the table. Someone had been here with Mail earlier. Mello reasoned that this was probably Linda, seeing as she was the only one aside from himself who Mail had told about the online relationship. Mello sat down in front of Linda's food.

"Do you want to break the awkward silence, or should I?" he regretted saying this the second that it left his lips, not knowing how they would sound to Mail.

"I can," Mail's face did not hint to amusement but his tone was no longer tight.

Mello was relived.

"I broke my promise," Mail stated.

"What?"

"Not the freak out," Mail explained with a pained smile. "I think yelling my head off and storming out counts as freaking out."

"You had the right to react like that," Mello said, eyes tracing the table.

"I know," Mail told him. "But I don't want to stay mad."

"You don't?" Mello tried not to let his excitement show in his voice.

"I don't," Mail repeated. "So give me a reason not to."

"I'm sorry—"

"Not like that," Mail stopped him. "I don't want an apology or an excuse. I want an explanation."

"You want to know why I didn't tell you," Mello rephrased.

"Yes."

"I was jealous," Mello confessed.

"Of yourself?"

"Of the person you thought I was," Mello clarified. "You were looking for someone who didn't exist, and every time I heard you talk about him I felt sick."

"What about him wasn't you?" Mail questioned. "You were the person at the party and the person I was messaging. You're the one who said and did those things."

"Yes," Mello allowed. "But I'm not just that."

"I understand that," Mail interjected at this.

"You understand that _now_ ," Mello corrected. "I couldn't tell you I was Mello because you expected Mello to be this perfect fantasy."

"No I didn't," Mail muttered.

"Well you acted like you did," Mello said flatly. "You were talking as if you already knew him, already knew me."

"Well we talked all the time," Mail defended.

"Online," Mello pointed out. "We only knew vague details about each other. If you knew me so well from talking, wouldn't you have been able to realize it was me?"

"I thought I would," Mail admitted. "But maybe I'm not as smart as I thought."

"No, you're very smart," Mello needed to tell him.

"You were able to figure it out," Mail reminded him.

"Because of a coincidence," Mello shrugged. "I got lucky. I wouldn't have been able to tell by just talking to you alone."

"If you didn't want me to think of you as Mello, then why did you tell me in the first place?" Mail asked.

"It's not that I didn't want you to know," Mello started. "I didn't enjoy keeping it from you, but I wanted you to know Mihael first."

"I've known you for the past two months."

"Fine, I wanted you to love me," Mello sighed, unsure how to say this flat out without sounding over exaggerated. "I really like you, and I hoped that I could get you to want who I really am as much as you want the fantasy version of me. If I told you from the beginning I would never be able to live up to that perfect persona. I told you after you asked me out because I thought that you had moved on from Mello."

"I have."

Those words stung.

"Okay," Mello felt the need to keep talk. "What about Mihael?"

"I don't know," Mail sighed. "I'm still angry. I don't know how not to be."

"I understand—"

"No, you don't," Mail told him. "I'm angry, but at the same time I'm not. I don't know how to forgive you, but I don't know how to give up on you either."

Mail covered his eyes with his hands, exhaling in exasperation. Mello wanted to promise him that he'd never lie, that he'd never betray Mail's trust ever again, but he knew that the words would sound empty. He hated himself for causing this mess, but, at the same time, he doubted that he could have done anything better. He still stood by his reasons. But he hated that it was hurting the both of them this much.

"What can I do to make it easier?" Mello finally asked.

"You could tell me that you're a jerk, and you don't like me, and leave my life forever," Mail dryly told him, not moving his face from his hands. "But none of that would be true, would it?"

"Maybe the jerk part," Mello shrugged.

Mail laughed, looking up to stare at Mello.

"Can I apologize?" Mello asked. "Because I do mean it."

"Yeah," Mail grinned weakly. "Go ahead."

"I'm sorry."

"I believe you," Mail's voice was soft, but Mello heard it clear as day.

"If you give me a second chance," Mello spoke cautiously. "I promise I'll do everything I can not to mess up this badly."

"Can we just start over completely?" Mail's question seemed to surprise the both of them.

"You mean pretend that none of this happened?" Mello inquired.

"Not exactly," Mail thought for a second. "Can we clean the slate? Act like you never did anything wrong or right. Act like I didn't say any of the things that you resented or the things that made you want me."

"Why not," Mello agreed without hesitation. "Where do we start?"

"I don't know," Mail raked his hand through his bright red hair.

"Hello, I'm Mihael," Mello greeted him as if they had never met before. "But my family calls me Mello."

"What should I call you?" Mail played along.

He considered this.

"Mello."

"Okay," Mail smiled. "Mello, do you have any money? Because Linda forgot to pay for lunch."

"Yeah," Mello chuckled. "I can pay, Mail."

"Matt," he corrected.

Mello gave him a confused look.

"You can call me Matt," Mail explained.

"Sure," Mello agreed. "Thank you, Matt."

"For what?"

"Everything," Mello laughed.

"You're making this cheesy," Matt complained.

"I know," Mello replied. "But it was cheesy from the start."

* * *

 **This is the last chapter, but there will be an epilogue (not just because a certain Kat had been begging for Mattie and Mels to song again).** **Thanks to Corliss Kat, Electronic Ink 0, and Anonsass for reviewing!**

 **So...what do you guys think? Did Matt make the right choice? Was making them start over with reintroducing names as corny as it was in the end of Butter (sorry if anyone likes that book)?**


	16. Epilogue

_Tuesday, January 13th_

"Halle thinks we're making out," Matt informed his boyfriend as he sat down.

"We're not?" Mello faked a disappointed expression.

"You know what I mean," Matt rolled his eyes, but couldn't suppress a grin. "When two people eat alone in a secluded area everyone assumes that they're doing something dirty."

"Sorry, but I'd rather not get past first base in our school hallway," Mello told him.

"Yeah."

Matt leaned against the wall, shamelessly staring at his companion. He took in a care free smile that spread across Mello's face, the way that he casually rested his head on his hand. This was the side of Mello that most did not have the pleasure of seeing. The relaxed, walls down, side of Mello that Matt had only met after his confession on Christmas.

"What?" Mello gave him a questioning look.

"What?" Matt asked back, beaming like a fool.

"You're a love sick idiot," Mello told him.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," Matt retorted.

"I always thought that expression was kind of racist," Mello mused.

"And there goes your train of thought," Matt muttered.

"Don't worry," Mello mustered a serious expression. "It'll focus back on you as soon as you give me your puppy-dog eyes."

"Not happening," Matt crossed his arms.

"Worth a shot." Mello shrugged before leaning in to give Matt a peck on the cheek.

"I thought we had a no PDA rule?"

"We're not technically in public," Mello stretched the word 'technically.' "Are you complaining?"

"No," Matt replied, quickly kissing Mello's forehead.

"How are things going?" Mello asked in serious tone.

"You mean with my evil parents?" Matt asked with no small degree of bitterness.

"Yeah," Mello's voice was drenched in concern. "With the evil parents."

"They haven't kicked me out yet, if that's what you're asking," Matt's eyes traced the floor. "I think their still in shock from me screaming 'I'm gay and in love with another guy' the other day. But Linda's mom gave them a bunch of weird parenting books, and I don't think I'm going to be disowned."

Mello threaded his figures through Matt's.

"And you're okay?"

"For the most part," Matt shrugged. "I mean, in two and a half years I can move out, so I'll just hang on until then."

"I'll help with the hanging," Mello gently kissed his palm.

"I know you will."

They were silent for a few seconds. Although, quiet for the two of them came in short supply, and it didn't take long for Mello to break it.

"So you're in love with me?" A slight smirk played it's way onto this lips.

"I, um—crap, I just said that, didn't I?" Matt proceeded to turn as red as his hair.

"Yeah, you kind of did."

"That's not how I planned to say it," Matt stammered. "And I don't really know, I mean I've never been in love before so it's not like I can recognize the feeling, and I know we've barely been together so I shouldn't really label it so quickly—"

"Me too," Mello cut him off.

"About what part?" Matt asked sheepishly.

"All of it."

They kissed.

* * *

 _Saturday, January 17th_

"Does this count as a double date?" Matt wondered, leaning slightly into Mello so that the computer monitor could catch the both of them.

"I think a date has to involve some sort of activity," Mello reasoned.

"Or cake," they heard Light mutter through the computer.

"What?" Matt asked.

"L will only go on dates that involve me buying him cake," Light clarified.

"You usually offer to buy it," L pointed out.

It had become normal for Matt to spend as much of his time at Mello's house as possible. This was both because the two wanted to spend time together and the fact that he preferred to stay away from his own house. When L had Skype called Mello, Matt had offered to leave the room, but Mello didn't see the point in it. In response to Matt's presence Mello had told L that he didn't need to kick Light out of their room. It didn't take long for both Matt and Mello to realize how bad of an idea this was.

"Just because the camera can't show it doesn't meant I can't tell where your hand is," Mello agitatedly informed them. This was his third comment on the subject in a manner of ten minutes.

"There is nothing suggestive about me putting my hand on his leg," Light defended himself.

"Upper thigh," Mello corrected. "And I don't want to know about it."

"I don't understand why it bothers you so much," L spoke now.

"It would be like Matt and I having sex in front of you," Mello attempted to put things in perspective.

"What is that logic?" Light exclaimed.

"So you two _are_ that far along." L mused gleefully before Mello could answer Light.

"No," Matt could feel his face turning red. "We are not that far along at all."

"Did you hear from B recently?" L abruptly changed the subject.

"Yeah," Mello looked slightly uncomfortable. "He's doing good."

"No reckless behavior?"

"Why don't you call him?" Mello asked back. "It's weird when you pass information through me."

"I do call him," L sounded a little offended. "But we only talk about you and Near."

"What?"

"He wants to meet Mail," L continued, ignoring Mello's shock.

"Should I be scared?" Everything that Matt had heard about Mello's brother B was a mixture of terrifying and too odd to be true.

"No," L answered before Mello could. "He told me that you sound like a good fit for Mello."

"Really? What makes him think that?" Mello joked.

"Hair color mainly," L looked serious.

"He said Light sounded interesting," Mello smirked slightly. "And you _should_ be scared."

"I'll see how long I can delay that meeting," L muttered.

"If I can survive Mello and Near's interrogation, I think I can hold my own against your crazy brother," Light stated, he confidently rested his arm around L's shoulders.

Matt spent the next three minutes listening to Mello explain to Light how B was definitely worse than him and Near, while L proceeded to stare at his boyfriend with an expression that Matt had no idea how to read. Frankly, Mello's description of B's insanity did make him slightly uneasy, even if his hair color was protecting him. That part still didn't make any sense...

L broke his eye contact with Light to turn back to the computer.

"We are going to go have sex now," L stated.

"I don't need to know that!" Mello exclaimed.

"Goodbye," Light ended the Skype call.

"Well, that was interesting," Mail observed.

"Welcome to my family," Mello sighed. "You wanna play a game or something?"

"Okay," Matt jumped at the idea. "But I'm not going easy on you."

"Of course," Mello agreed.

Matt flopped onto Mello's bed, waiting for Mello to join him. He stared at Mello's ceiling for five seconds before realizing that Mello wasn't moving.

"Something wrong?" he asked, looking up.

"It's just," Mello looked down at the laptop in his hands. "The only games we've played are on that site."

 _Oh._

"We can do something else," Mello started.

"No, we're starting over," Matt reminded him.

"So it's fine?" Mello the worried look remained on Mello's face.

"It's fine," Matt told him.

"Okay," Mello sank down onto the bed next to him.

Matt watched Mello log in, but covered his hand with his own before he could choose a game. Mello look up at him with questioning eyes. Slowly, Matt leaned in until his lips met Mello's. He closed his eyes, but didn't deepen this kiss. Mello's hand twisted to lace their fingers together, wrapping his other arm around Matt's waist. Matt gently pulled back, taking in the pleasantly surprise look that painted Mello's face. His eyes wandered to the silky blonde hair that fell perfectly around Mello shoulders.

 _I want to mess it up_ , Matt thought to himself. _Is that sexual or just weird?_

Before Matt could question this, Mello was pulling their faces back together. Matt's eyes closed again. This time neither hesitated to deepen this kiss. Matt's free hand blindly found Mello's cheek, and he softly ran his thumb over the boy's soft skin.

"I could get used to that," Mello's face adopted a goofy smile after they broke apart.

"I think already am."

With that Matt flung his arms around Mello. This caused him to fall backwards onto the bed, Matt's torso slightly overlapping Mello's. He took this moment too curl one of his fingers in that soft blonde hair. Mello hung his arms around Matt, gently kissing his jaw as he did so.

"You know what?" Matt could hear how dream-swept his voice was, but couldn't find it in him to be embarrassed.

"What?" Mello hummed.

"I'm glad that we met in person."

* * *

 **WARNING: Long author's note.**

 **Well Corliss, there is that make out scene you've been begging for. Be a happy Kat. (Everyone else, don't worry. We're sisters IRL so I'm aloud to make fun of her).**

 **BY THE WAY, Corliss Kat and I are going to make an audio book for this fic (she'll be doing the Mello chapter's and I'll be reading the Matt chapters) on our youtube channel RainbowEmoji Cosplay. Check my profile for details.**

 **On the subject of a sequel or continuation (thank's for asking Cyinamas) I am considering writing another fic set in the same universe as this one. This story would be set mainly in Light and L's point of views and go through how they got together and what happens with them before and after In Person. Originally I was not going to write this, but recently I realized that a lot of the information I created for L, Light, and even Beyond never made it into this story. I also wanted to play more with L and B's odd sibling relationship and maybe add A to the mix. I would include some more follow ups on Mattie and Mels in this story as well.**

 **Now, I will admit that I have a history of promising sequels and not following through, but there is a large possibility that this one will happen.** **That being said, this is something that I would like to write when I have the time. If I decide to write it, I will do it regardless of followers, but I would like to know if any of you would be interested in this.**

 **Should I write a companion fic to this, I expect it will be posted late December to early January. Right now all of my writing time is going into a Mystery/Suspense/Romance fic that I'm writing for NaNoWriMo. This contains both LxLight and MattxMello for those who have been wondering if I'll be writing anymore for either ship. I expect to be posting this around early or mid December, so please keep an eye out if you're interested!**

 **TooManyFandoms, thanks for wanting this to continue so much! I know this fic is pretty short, but I wanted to end it with them getting together instead of drawing it out. If I write a companion fic, I hope you read an enjoy that as much as you liked this.**

 **Thanks to everyone who's reviewed favorite or followed! Knowing people are reading an enjoying definitely boosts my motivation to write more Death Note stories. Thank you to Corliss Kat, Cyinamas, brightnight003, Bummer, Carely-Carely-Carley, Ern Estine 13624, and TooManyFandoms for reviewing on the last chapter!**

 **Goody-bye!**


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